Visions of Fire
by russianspy
Summary: ALTERNATE UNIVERSE SEASON 2. Sam gets a vision. A Psychiatric Hospital burns. A girl starts the fire. She's clearly a one of the Children. The brothers go to investigate but are too late when they arrive to see the ruins of the once massive building. They set out to find the girl, perhaps kill her if they have to. But another hunter is after her too.
1. Fire Woman

**Note: This begins in season two because this story was originally written back in 07, with my writing partner Stephanie, and I still believe that season 2 was the best season. Please be assured that we keep its integrity and soul, and you will not be disappointed. Sam and Dean are written with great consideration and love, and you will never see them out of character. One of the greatest pairs in television.**

* * *

I say send down fire to me  
Say send down fire to me  
Say send down fire to me, yeah!  
Fire woman, you're to blame...

~Cult

* * *

**_Tulsa, Oklahoma - Laureate Psychiatric Clinic & Hospital_**

The guard shone his flashlight into the window of the door he passed and continued towards the next. The hallway was long with high walls and a dark ceiling. The doors seemed to run almost infinitely on both sides. They disappeared ominously into the dark ahead. It was a hospital, past the point of "lights out." Last inspections were being made.

"Maybe Barb gave them all extra doses. They're actually quiet tonight, eh, Raskin?" The plump, balding man looked at the second guard and laughed.

Raskin was tall, big-nosed, dark-haired. A Russian accent smudged his words as he hissed them out.

"Yeah, an' your big mouth's gonna wake them all up, so shut up. Maybe we'll actually get some sleep t'night."

There was a cry far ahead in one of the rooms, one of those remaining patients who could never pass by the opportunity to howl with the moon being up so high.

"There, Baldino, already woke one," Raskin said. "Ya moron."

Baldino waved his hand. "It's just Eric, he'll shut up in a minute or two. Always does."

"Yeah, let's hope, or they'll all wake up and I'll make sure Cain gets your hairy ass."

"Nah, he'll get yours, not mine. I'll get Jill to back me up."

"Why the hell would she back you up? She likes you about as much as she likes to clean the shit pans."

"Oh, yeah? How would you know?" Baldino turned smug, forgot about the rooms on his side. "She actually said she liked my shirt the other day."

"Your shirt?" Raskin scoffed. "Which one? The one with the coffee stain or the one with the jizz stain?"

"Oh, screw you, you asshole. It ain't jizz, and I ain't lying. It was during lunch."

"Before or after you spilled your coffee down your pants?" Raskin asked. Baldino gritted his teeth. Before he opened his mouth, a sudden wind blew behind them. Both guards spun around, swinging their lights with them.

There was nothing there. The air was still again.

"You fart or something?" Baldino said after they looked around.

"What?"

Baldino sniffed. "You farted."

"I didn't fart. And-" Raskin smelled the air. "My fart don't smell like that." He narrowed his eyes, moved his light down the hall. He scanned the cracked, washed-out floors and walls for the source of the smell.

"What is that? _Eggs_?" Baldino looked at the doors on his side of the hall and went up to the one he recently passed. The person there was sleeping, his form vaguely lined by the muffled moonlight. "Smells like rotten eggs."

"Well, I don't eat rotten eggs," Raskin told him.

"Well, your shit sure smells like them!"

Raskin rounded on Baldino. "I didn't fart. _You_ probably farted, you jackass."

"You woulda heard it if I did, and my farts don't smell like rotten eggs either!"

"Well, mine don't either!"

An audible whimper came from one of the rooms nearby and caught them off guard. Raskin smacked Baldino in the shoulder. "Woke another!"

"_You_ did!"

"I didn't do jack-shit!" Raskin said. Another whimper sounded, interrupted their squabble. The guards looked in the direction it came from. It was now clear that it belonged to a female.

Baldino pointed a few doors down on his side. "That one."

Raskin nodded. "Yeah."

The woman moaned again, something obviously bothering her. The two men slowly started towards the closed room.

Raskin's thoughts automatically went vulgar. "What's she got someone there with her? Boyfriend probably stayed after visits."

"If he did, you're gonna break them up," Baldino quickly said.

"Maybe we could watch for a bit." Raskin grinned wolfishly and turned off his light. Baldino followed. The seemingly protesting whine sounded again. The guards stopped before the door, hesitantly looked inside the dark room at the bed in the middle. They glanced at each other.

"I don't see no one."

"Neither do I," Raskin said.

The young woman was alone and no one was with her. She tossed and turned on her bed, sweat glistening on her face in the muted light from the windows. She looked in her early twenties.

"Ohh, this is that new one," Baldino realized and took a step back. "She's been here for a couple months. Has those nightmares. We should get go get Jill."

"You just wanna try getting into her pants again. Just wait a sec," Raskin continued to watch out of pure, insensitive curiosity. "And she's not screamin' yet."

Baldino sighed. "Yet. And when she starts, what're we gonna do?"

"Well, _you_ were the one who woke her up."

"I didn't, and she's still sleeping. Come on, let's go. Jill'll give her a sedative and she'll be quiet."

Raskin glowered, disappointed. He nodded and turned around to follow Baldino. No sooner had he, than a stronger gust of wind shot right through his legs. The man yelped.

"_Jesus Christ!"_

Baldino turned around. "What's the hell's the matter with you?"

"I felt something between my legs! It's gone! It went right through – like, like a-" Raskin spun around. He turned his flashlight back on and searched the darkness this way and that. "It was like a wind or somethin'!"

"Must be the horny ghost that always walks through here. Did it grab your balls?"

"Shut up!" Raskin looked back at the door. "It came from inside. Lika wind or something…b-but not!"

"She's probably got the window open and it's coming from under the door. Now come on. Let's go get Jill," Baldino urged. Raskin tried to see if the windows were indeed open. Then he finally let it go, decided that he had overreacted. The two remained silent and resumed their patrolling.

When they got two meters from the room, there was a loud thud inside. The guards stopped, looked at each other, and then rushed back to the door. It was still dark inside. Raskin was already reaching for his keys.

Baldino shone his light into the room. He tried to make anything out. "It came from inside?"

"It sounded like." Raskin fumbled with his keys, found the one he needed and quickly stuck it into the knob. The girl moaned. Her apparent hallucinations worsened from the additional racket the guards were causing. Raskin opened the door, held his light in front of him.

"Somethin' fell?" Baldino whispered.

"I don't know. Don't see anything… No one else is in here."

With the lack of the furniture in the room, no one could hide in there. Baldino walked towards the windows and eyed the tremulous patient a few moments. Psychotic patients were a sight to watch. The two guards were long used to their ticks and glitches but never got bored. There was always some sort of entertainment to be found.

"She's kinda pretty," Baldino commented offhandedly.

Raskin looked at the girl and smirked. "She kinda is." The two guards exchanged a sly glance.

"And she's still not waking up."

Raskin started to the bed. Baldino followed and stopped in front of her. They took a moment to watch her movements. The blanket was already half way on the floor but she was out regardless. Their talking wasn't even waking her.

"Maybe we won't get Jill," reconsidered Baldino.

Grinning, Raskin slowly reached for the edge of the blanket and lifted it off her waist, exposing a bare two inches of her stomach. Baldino wasn't as daring.

"She doesn't look like a school girl to me."

"Nope." Raskin removed the blanket off of the rest of the young woman's body. The sparkling sweat covered her legs and arms as well. It made sick thoughts entered his mind. She whimpered, fisting her hands. Baldino hesitantly leaned over her, watched as she squeezed her eyes. As if seeing something terrifying in her sleep.

Raskin smiled and raised his hand over the woman's stomach, wanting to slip his fingers under her shirt. After changing his mind, he instead moved his hand over a breast, then just over her collar bone. Fingers first, he gently touched her skin, trailing across it. She remained unaware of the guard's presence. Raskin's brow rose slowly and he moved his hand higher. Something felt off.

"Hey, she's hot."

"Guess so."

"No. Feel her." Raskin felt her neck some more. "Seriously. Feel her."

"What?" Baldino brought his hand to her face. "What're—whoa, she is."

"She's really hot." Raskin felt her forehead. "She's got a fever or somethin'."

The woman suddenly grabbed the bed sheet under her, made the two men jump. They watched as she clenched her teeth, stifling a cry.

"What, is she sick?" Raskin said.

"Now we really gotta go get Jill," Baldino said anxiously.

Raskin swore but nodded. "Yeah, okay, let's go-"

As if cue, the door slammed shut behind them. Entirely of its own accord. As if the horny ghost of the hospital was real. The men paled.

"Who the hell did that?" Raskin questioned.

"I don't know." Though he felt uneasy a moment, Baldino started for the door. But as he tried to turn the handle, it wouldn't budge. He felt the lock. No matter how he turned it, the door still wouldn't open.

"Raskin, come here." Baldino pulled the door, giving it a kick. "It's not opening."

"What?" Raskin shoved Baldino over and tried to open the door himself. There no avail even with him. "What the fuck?" He shone his light through the window. No one was on the other side. "What the fuck, man?"

"Maybe it was your ghost." The woman gave another cry. Concerned now, Baldino looked back at her. "We needa get Jill."

"I know, man, but the door's not opening!" Raskin brutally kicked the door, made it shudder. The hinges still held strong.

"Let's break the window," Baldino offered, lifting his maglight. "We'll open the door from the other side."

Raskin nodded and moved out of the way. Baldino slammed the end of the flashlight into the glass. It cracked only a smidge; it was thick. Pausing, they both watched as the patient's nightmare became more violent. Vaguely something from a horror movie, despite the fact they were in a hospital for the mentally ill. It was as if the girl was possessed.

"Did she not get her meds?" Raskin asked nervously.

Baldino shook his head. "I don't know."

"Come on. We needa get out of here."

Baldino turned to the window and Raskin lifted his own flashlight. As he prepared to strike, the patient gave another scream. Far louder this time. And then, before their very eyes, as if ignited by an invisible lighter, the woman overcame with a ripple of flames—flames of _fire_. From the core of her body it sprouted, her abdominal, as if marking the climax of her hellish visions. The heat was instantaneous, so hot that the men screamed. The patient's clothes disintegrated, the bed blackened in seconds. The fire alarm wailed overhead.

"JESUS CHRIST!" yelled Baldino.

Raskin frantically bashed the glass, finally making it break, and yanked the keys from his pant's belt. The flames sped up the white curtains, set fire to the nightstand, then the little bland rug on the floor. The woman thrashed now, somehow still alive. Somehow she didn't seem to be affected by the fire, whose origin the men couldn't begin to fathom in their hysterical states. The men coughed—the smoke burned their throats, their eyes. Raskin fumbled with the keys, his arm through the broken window.

"Help! SOMEONE HELP!"

They were in a giant oven.

"Hurr-y up!" Baldino could barely speak, could barely stay on his feet.

"I'm-I'm try-ing!" Raskin croaked back.

He looked back at the woman. Squinting, shielding his eyes, he barely saw her moving form behind the bright yellow flames. He couldn't understand why she was still alive. And now it was clear that the fire was coming from her_—she_ was feeding it somehow. This was some deathly, nightmarish phenomenon. This _was_ a horror movie.

Though neither men were given another moment.

A convulsion irrupted from the burning patient. The fire exploded like a detonated bomb. It silenced the guards to their deaths and knocked down the door, roaring as loud as a jet engine. The fire shot through the halls, muffled any screams. It burst through the windows and lit up the night. The fire brought down ceilings.

The scene flickered unexpectedly then—it returned to the girl. Like the changing of channels on a television. Her bed was now gone along with everything else. She lay in a pile of ash and cried out repeatedly. Her shrill voice pierced the air with the crackle of white noise. Above the _whoosh_ing and roaring of the fire.

Then the fire flickered again, the bright light cutting off in brief flashes. It was dimming, became indistinguishable. The girl seizured and everything shimmered once more. In the midst of it all, a sink started to flash. A mirror appeared. It was a mirror because there was the reflection of a face. The face itself seemed to burn and contort in pain. The fire began to abate only after the face let out its own cry, belonging to a man. This television, this scene, which the face had observed this entire time, could barely contain its own reaction. Two hands grabbed the sink. The reflection cleared—a man appeared in the mirror.

It was Sam Winchester. He grabbed his head and clenched his teeth so hard that he felt a stab of pain shoot up his jaw.

The fire flickered again, dimmer, the screams lessened. Sam saw the hospital's entrance collapse one last time before he was finally released. The breath of air his mind felt when the vision evaporated was so wonderful that he nearly let out a cry of happiness. His face was hot from the fire he hadn't actually been burned by.

Sam's face wasn't even red, but his cheeks, nose, and chin stung anyway. His eyes watered bad. The faucet ran and he gave himself a few splashes. The freezing, metallic water was enough to remind him that he was still whole.

He had almost _felt_ the flames. In the midst of his vision, he had forgotten where he actually was—the grimy, rickety bathroom of a gas station. The fire was so hot, Sam had thought that he too would burn. Along with the guards, the patient. The entire institution with the rest of its sleeping folk.

Poor people.

Sam felt a wave of both nausea and remorse weigh down his gut. A vision to this extent had never happened before. It hadn't gotten this bad. Especially the sorrow. Whether it was from the girl who burned, or the dying people, or both. Few people would be able to withstand seeing such a gruesome scene. Sam was shaking as he tried to keep himself together. He splashed more water onto his face, squeezing shut his eyes. Then they flew open.

The door behind him shook slightly, loose on its hinges. A rather graceless knock echoed throughout the bathroom. Even the grimy mirror that reflected back Sam's weary face rattled from the beat.

"_Sammy? You still in there?_"

The male voice was full of playful mockery, a smile heard.

"_Fall in? Whatever you do, don't follow the yellow brick road_."

There was a pause as the handle was finally jiggled open. Dean Winchester stepped in with a half-eaten stick of beef jerky hanging out of the corner of his mouth and a rather conspicuous brown paper bag held in the crook of his elbow.

Sam opened his eyes and looked at his brother through the mirror. The look on Dean's face instantly sobered when Sam's dismal appearance.

"This isn't the greatest place to contemplate the fate of the world, Sammy. Let's get out of here." The older brother took a few steps to Sam's side, heedless of the yellow pieces of toilet paper that stuck to his boot heels.

Sam ripped off some paper towel, wiped his face, winced at the places where there should've been burns. "Hold on a sec, Dean."

Concerned now, Dean put a hand on his younger brother's shoulder. Dean knew what probably happened.

"Had another one? Did you see him? Did you see the demon?"

Shaking his head, Sam turned off the faucet and turned around. "I'll tell you about it in the car."

Younger and older brother left the gas station and went back to their Chevy Impala, which sat parked and gas tank filled and ready to go. Sam opened his door and carefully got inside without noticing how beautifully the black paint reflected the clear sky, newly waxed (Dean did, for he couldn't help but smirk a little). Sam rubbed his temple with his palm, squinting, too, from the stinging that still lingered in his vision.

"I don't think it's ever been this bad. There was a fire at some hospital."

As he sat in too, Dean shoved the rest of the beef jerky into his mouth. "What hos'ital?" Garbled words came out from around the meat.

"Just some hospital."

Revving up the Impala, Dean pulled her out onto the street, shot his brother a few quick looks. He had to ask again:

"And did you see the demon?"

"No," Sam grimaced as he gave his right eye a rub. "I never see him in my visions, but I saw someone burning this time. A girl. I think it was a hospital." He put down his hand and blinked a few times. He took a deliberate breath, tried to calm the anxiety that always issued and remained after these vision attacks. It was particularly bad this time. His voice shook.

"But I think it was more like...a psychiatric hospital. Because there were patients, late at night, screaming an' stuff." Sam always had a hard time describing without feeling crazy. Dean's expressions contributed every time. Sam did his best to ignore them. "There was a girl. She was a patient too."

"Who? Winona Ryder?" Dean interjected suddenly. He couldn't help a smirk. "Or was it Angelina Jolie?"

"No, Dean. It's not funny."

"I think I'd prefer Winona Ryder… 'Cause Jolie's supposed to be a sociopath or something, and that in a woman is never a good—"

"Dean, would you let me finish? There's more to it."

Dean raised his hand and his smile fell. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Just tryin' to lighten up the mood. You look like you saw a clown. You're shaking, Sammy."

Sam frowned and clasped his hands. "Yeah, well, it was really bad this time. If you would have seen what I saw…" The younger man's eyes drifted to his window.

Dean finally sobered up. "What else?"

"The girl caught on fire and burned the whole hospital down." Sam said it so fast his brother did a double take. "Yeah, Dean, caught on fire, and I thought I was going to burn up too. It was like an oven. I don't know how many other patients were there, but I bet they all died. It was terrible."

"Because this of chick, Sam?" Dean's eyes were wide. "Who…caught on fire?

Sam looked at his brother and nodded. They've confronted "specials" before. Just recently, too. A one Andy Gallagher and his evil twin brother, whom they ended up _stopping_. Now Andy was left, and while he had been the good guy, the idea of what he could do—control minds—was bone-chilling.

Now this. A girl who burned.

"I know how it sounds, Dean, but I'm positive it's another one, another one of the Demon's kids."

Dean didn't like the sound of that. "But we still got some time, right? Before we find her." He lingered. Sam knew on what.

"She was asleep, though, when she did it," Sam couldn't leave that out. "Dreaming. Actually I think it was a nightmare."

Dean's eyes darkened. "So Yellow Eyes got to her already."

"I don't know. But she was definitely unconscious. And the hospital's name…" Sam tried to remember the flashes: the front of the building before it collapsed. "Laur…Laureate or-or something."

"Laureate? Okay…" Dean didn't know how these visions worked but he hoped Sam was right. "Any idea where this nut house is?"

"Not yet," Sam muttered.

"Why is it _always_ an asylum?" After a moment of silence, Dean sighed. "So I guess that means we're going to have to pull over and figure out where this place is, huh?"

"The girl definitely caused the fire. Somehow she just—she just _ignited_ on her bed. And she didn't die."

A sly smirk crossed Dean's face—he had to lighten his brother's frown.

"You sure you just weren't daydreaming, Sammy? I saw the channel that had been on before I changed it this morning. What exactly were you doing last night while I was out?"

Sam scoffed. "Dude—"

Dean shook his head. "On second thought, don't tell me. But it does sound hot."

"Yeah, it actually was," Sam said seriously. "I could almost feel the heat. I know how it sounds, but it felt like I was really there." He raised his hand to rub his eyes. "I _thought_ I really was. Until it ended…"

"Ookay there, hot stuff. I told you, you should have gone with that one broad from the bar last night. Now _she_ was HOT."

He knew that his brother visions were true, but still. The idea of a woman lighting on fire and being fine afterwards seemed farfetched to say the least. Then the image of his mother flashed before his eyes, pinned to the ceiling, fire creeping out from her own self…

"Do you have any clue when this fire is supposed to happen?"

"No, but it was already dark. There were a couple of guards patrolling the halls and making sure everyone was asleep. For all we know, it could all happen tonight." Sam looked at his brother gravely. "So let's find a library and see how far we have to drive."

"On the road again," Dean sung dryly.


	2. We Gotta Get Out of this Place

We gotta get out of this place  
'Cause girl, there's a better life  
For me and you  
Now my girl you're so young and pretty  
And one thing I know is true, yeah  
You'll be dead before your time is due

~The Animals

* * *

A burned out forest, a war zone, a riot.

These were the images that came to mind as the woman walked through the burned out recesses that had once been a teeming and fruitful hospital. Debris and ash littered what used to be a hall before her. Each footfall brought up a small puff of soot as if announcing her presence to those that were no longer alive. I-beams that had been the skeletal structure were now broken and bent before her, warped by such a warmth that they now looked more akin to fallen trees than manmade steel.

Some were broken off and bent down beneath the heavy burden of the floors above, making each step throughout the place even more treacherous. The sunset filtered in through the broken walls and blown out windows, marking her path. The woman carefully wove around the gentle giants as best as she could, 9mm held down by her side.

A structural groan echoed throughout the shell of the building, making her freeze. There was a small cracking sound, and a string of dirt and debris rained down on top of her, coating her wavy, dark brown hair. She couldn't stop the light cough that she tried to muffle with her free hand. The building was long past the condemned status that was posted on the fence outside, and the fear of a simple breath creating a chain reaction, one that would make her a permanent resident of the place rather than a visitor, was a very real one.

Though the fire had been about 22 hours before, smoldering embers could still be seen. Indeed, the heat that radiated from certain pockets in the walls and floors was disconcerting, and yet the chill that drifted into through her bones was even more alarming. It was evening, and so the cool temperature was to be expected, but finding random pockets of warm and cool air seeming to mingle together was disturbing.

Aidan Rue knew she was supposed to be there.

The woman had done her research and knew that this was the next piece of the puzzle she was solving, but there was some niggling doubt in the back of her mind that she just couldn't seem to get rid of. She'd been in the burned out shell for close to an hour and a half and had yet to find anything. Annoyed, she decided to make one more sweep. If she didn't find anything, then she would simply have to admit defeat—for now.

It was as she tried to climb over a partially melted, overturned gurney that the woman heard a noise. It was a light scrambling for purchase followed by a slight thud. Swinging her gun around, she faced the direction the sound had come from. Adrenaline started coursing through her veins, her heart rate accelerated. Normally random sounds wouldn't be very exciting considering she was in a broken down building and things like that were common, but that sound had been different. It wasn't just something falling over. It might've been created from something alive.

Looking down the short barrel of her gun, Aidan silently crossed to an almost whole section of the wall, beside an open doorway into a room. As she waited there, she took stock of her immediate surroundings and breathed slow and even.

One breath… Another thud. Second breath… Third… A scraping sound. Exhale, and spin! The woman stood fully in the doorway, her gun trained in front of her as she looked into the dismal room.

No one was there.

But the room still contained some of its once-whole furniture. Though mostly charred, several overturned closets, a few half-leaning on burned tables and sunken bed frames stood before the woman.

Who had caused the sounds? There weren't even any rodents present.

When no one appeared, the woman lowered her gun. Yet, there on the floor Aidan discovered what looked like naked human footprints, tracking from one side of the room, to the other, and around the pile of rubble. But regardless of whoever was really there, the air was still.

Aidan had heard something. She knew she did. And the footsteps only proved it. Leaning to the side, she stretched her neck to try and see beyond the pile. In order to, she'd have to go further into the room. She cautiously followed the footsteps around the rubble. Unfortunately, Aidan's own couldn't be silenced, causing soft creaks in the floorboards. As she drew further around the hazardous stacks of furniture, a shuffle sounded ahead.

Someone was definitely there.

Then there was another shuffle—of feet—and then another, until something collided into a closet with a yelp, giving away the exact location. The blackened wood toppled partway immediately, releasing a thick puff of ash into the air.

Aidan instantly bolted around the pile of dejected debris and headed for the closet. The fallen wood blocked her view of who was in there, though the footprints led right into the closet. She tried to peer through the rubble. With the gun raised in on hand, she used the other to reach towards a board. Once her fingers had closed around its edge, she immediately pulled it back, and aimed as she saw the dark outline of a face.

"Wait!"

The cry belonged to a female.

Full of fear, her facial features stained with black ash that matched her longish hair, the young woman held her hands in front of her, hoping the shot wouldn't come. She looked younger than Aidan by a couple of years, early twenties, while Aidan was 24. The girl's voice was slightly hoarse. Her blue eyes were red. She looked entirely innocent.

"Don't shoot me!" she yelled. Aidan didn't look like a cop to her, which confused her.

Aidan paused, still sighting down the barrel.

"What are you doing here?" She looked over the cowering girl's attire. It was a ragged hospital gown. There were some cuts and bruises on the girl's limbs. None of the patients should have been there.

Aidan lowered the gun, but only so that it was no longer pointed at the girl's face.

"This place is condemned. It's not safe here." She was suspicious. Could this be the one she was looking for? Her arsonist?

The dirtied girl didn't appear to hear her warning. She had a dazed look in her eyes, as if she hadn't slept all night, as if the energy was drained out of her.

"Please don't kill me." Though she wasn't crying, her words held a shake, her gaze going back to the gun that was still raised. "D-don't shoot. Please."

After another moment's pause, Aidan disengaged the weapon and clicked the safety on, tucking it back into the pocket of her jacket. "I'm not going to shoot you. You just startled me. Here, come on out of there."

She leaned down and offered her hand. The patient took it but let go the moment she felt the floor under her feet, quickly taking several steps away. She was shorter than Aidan too, thinner, lacked muscle. She wasn't anorexic looking—but due to her line of work, Aidan had muscle in comparison.

"What are you doing here? I thought they searched this place for survivors."

"There were other survivors?" the patient said with surprise and relief. "I thought there weren't." Her voice creaked, while Aidan tried to further soften her naturally temperate voice.

"Well, there weren't, but they still looked for them." Aidan watched her carefully, looking for obvious mortal wounds or anything that could possibly signify a spirit. There were no survivors from the fire, but here this girl was. "What do you know about the fire? How did you survive?"

"I-I don't know," the patient stammered, shaking her head.

Aidan's eyes narrowed.

"I don't remember anything."

"You don't remember?" Aidan's disbelief grew. "You don't remember the huge fire bomb that occurred here killing all 159 patients and 31 staff members?" Her hand discretely rested over her pocket. The Patient's eyes followed briefly. "Seems like something that might be kind of hard to forget…"

She took a step away from the girl, who, regardless, heard the accusation in her level voice. The last thing Aidan wanted was to yell at her—because this very likely could've been who she was looking for. Whatever she was.

The patient shook her head again. "I'm not lying. I don't remember. Why are you here?" The distrust was mutual. "You're not cop." She too stepped away.

"Says who?" Aidan shot back, quirking up an eyebrow. Yet still she didn't yell. "I'm investigating the fire. What's your name?" They watched each other vigilantly.

The patient didn't answer. Fight or flight. Without warning, she suddenly spun around and bounded around the other side of the rubble, leaping over anything that came in her way. She ran over something sharp, yelped at the pain on the bottom of her bare feet, but kept running anyway—out of the room. An exit was practically two rooms away. She ran under a fallen I-beam. Aidan was already after her.

The chase was on. Aidan stumbled over a slightly burned out wooden chair but had an advantage with her boots.

"Stop!" she yelled. Dust and ash rose up into the air from their dash. "I'm here to help you!"

The patient saved her breath for her sprint. She slid briefly on the slippery marble floor though miraculously gained balance before crashing into a fallen chunk of a wall.

The exit was just ahead.

Turning left, she darted down another hall and glanced back. Her pursuer was athletic.

Looking back ahead of her, the patient finally saw the two glass doors. The glass itself was broken, but the way was clear. There was a forest beyond the field and garden behind the building, and then a busy street. Reaching the door without sparing another look back, the patient jumped straight through the frame of the door and felt the grainy stone pathway hit her feet. She stumbled again and yelped. Cutting right for the grass, she set straight for the woods.

There was no way that Aidan was going to let her go that easily. But rather than following her path outside, she instead turned left into another hallway. It was another wing of the hospital and allowed her to run parallel to the patient. Well, that was what Aidan hoped. She ran as fast as she possibly could, a full out sprint, and got to the end of the building where another doorway was. As soon as the patient got to the edge of the structure, and Aidan saw her, she threw herself out at her, bringing them both to the ground.

A scuffled immediately ensued. The patient frantically grabbed at the grass, kicking and fighting to free herself. Aidan tried to hold her down.

One of the patient's blows caught her in her ribcage and made Aidan yelp in pain. But she woman didn't let go. She was stronger. She was almost positive that this was the girl that she had been looking for, and she wasn't going to give her up.

The patient slapped her in the face. "Ow! Dammit!"

* * *

"Wow, that's a happy picture."

Dean looked up at the burnt remains of the hospital. "I guess you got the fire right then." He didn't want to be there. "Just pointing out that the papers said that there were no survivors. Just thought you should know." The man squared his shoulders as he walked, his lips slightly pursed in mild annoyance.

"Yeah, well I swear she didn't burn. You know all my visions are connected to the Yellow-eyed demon somehow. That girl has to be like me and the others. The demon said he had plans for us." Sam didn't care that his brother was so faithless. Sam knew what he saw. Looking at the collapsed exit, he gestured around the building. "Let's find a back entrance."

"Or maybe just an entrance in general," Dean said with force enthusiasm.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he and Sam headed towards the building and began walking around it.

"So… you still think she's hanging around this place even if she did survive?"

"I don't know, but let's at least try to find something. This could help us." Sam looked at his brother and glowered. "Come on, you have to agree with me. We haven't had a lead in weeks – nothing. And this is my first vision in months."

Though he wanted to keep protesting, Dean rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine. Let's go let you poke around in the dirt. You get any ash inside the Impala, and you're the one that's going to be cleaning…" but the man trailed off slightly, pausing mid step.

"Hey, you hear something?" There was faint sounds of…fighting and yelling.

"Huh?" Sam stopped as well. "Someone's here." He immediately set off ahead of Dean towards the corner of the hospital.

For once, Dean didn't argue and quickly headed after his brother. The closer they got, the louder and clearer the arguing became. As they rounded the corner of the building, what they were hearing became clear—twenty yards away.

Two women were wrestling on the ground. One was in patient attire. The other was in normal clothes—jeans, a jacket. The latter was on top of the other, attempting to restrain her. The patient couldn't fight but clawed as best as she could. The other woman looked like a badass. Maybe they were lesbian lovers.

Dean grinned and tilted his head to the side slightly. "Where's the rain when you want it?" He chuckled.

Aidan grabbed both of the patient's wrists and tried to pin them to her sides as the patient struggled. This was getting ridiculous. They both panted and had sweat on their faces.

"Let me go!" the patient said.

The both of them were too engrossed in their struggle to notice the brothers. Sam watched a little ways ahead of Dean.

Sam saw the patient's face and recognized it. His tensed. He whispered to his brother:

"It's her. Dean, that's her. The one in the hospital gown." Sam felt electricity shoot through him. "From my vision. She burned the building."

Dean's eyes darkened.

The patient gritted her teeth, fighting the hands that were holding her down, and lifted her foot and kicked her assaulter in the shin. Aidan leapt back, falling to the grass beside her, yelping in pain.

"Ah! Ga—Fuck—mmm."That was it. Rue grabbed her gun out of her pocket, stood, and aimed it straight down at the patient. "I said knock it off!" she shouted.

"Oh. Two crazy chicks, one is packing." Dean immediately started forward. "Hey, hey, whoa there. Easy." He lifted both hands.

The women finally noticed them. Aidan sighed.

Sam followed his brother, more cautious of the patient than the woman who held the gun. The former got up and slowly started stepping backwards the instant Aidan had her attention off her.

"Who are you?" Sam asked the brunette. She hadn't been in his vision.

Aidan instantly lowered her weapon, though didn't yet stow it.

"U.S. Marshal. I'm investigating a possible claim that this fire was caused by arson. Can I ask what you gentlemen are doing here? This is not only private property, but condemned as well. It's scheduled for demolition."

Dean's eyes had widened—he didn't believe her.

When the woman saw the patient backing away out of the corner of her eye, Aidan turned back to her. "I don't think so. Stay where you are."

"I'm not criminal." The patient couldn't steady her voice. "I swear I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything."

She looked at the two men, clenching her jaw, her eyes glazing over. Maybe they would believe her. But Sam swallowed hard. She looked so innocent. But so were the others.

Aidan spoke to her. "If you're really not a criminal then you won't mind answering some questions."

"Show us your badge," Sam told the apparent Marshal. "We need proof."

"What you need is to remove yourself from the premise." With her free hand, the woman reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small, leather flip case. Placing her index finger in the binding, she flashed them both her badge and ID at the same time before closing it and shoving it away.

"Now I suggest you leave." But the men still didn't move.

Dean whistled with a grin and shook his head. "That's pretty smooth there. I gotta admit, you've got a nice act, Marshal. Too bad you messed up just a little bit."

Aidan's eyes narrowed.

"Tell us who you really are," said Sam.

The patient quickly took a couple of steps back – from all of them this time. "No, who are all three of you? None of you are cops." She began to panic as she continued back peddling. "What're you doing here?"

Sam saw her moving.

"No, no, wait," he said. She looked as though she was about to run. "Wait. We aren't going to hurt you." They couldn't lose her.

"Wh-why are you here then?" She looked back at the Marshal, then at her gun.

Aidan pointedly put it back into her pocket, and then kept her hands away from it. "I'm not going to hurt you," she told the patient, her voice gentle again.

"Yeah, I'm sure she buys that, after you were just waving a gun in her face." Dean chuckled.

"Weren't you leaving?" Aidan asked. She ignored Sam's earlier question.

"Not until you tell us who you are and what you're doing here," said the younger brother.

The patient took another step back but didn't run yet. Sam quickly glanced at her and then looked back at the other woman.

"We're not leaving until you answer us."

"I've given you my answer. I don't have to give you any more. Or do I have to call for backup?" Aidan glared at them.

Dean couldn't help it—he broke out laughing. "Back up? Watched a little too much Law and Order, don't you think?"

Aidan didn't admit to anything.

"Fine, we'll just take our questioning elsewhere." It was then, though, that she felt something wet on her leg—a streak down her thigh. Looking down at her pocket, she realized that something was leaking, and felt sharp jabs from broken glass. "Shit."

The brothers saw, grew suspicious.

"We'll be going now," she said quickly, looking over at the patient.

Raising her hands, the patient swiftly moved away from her. "I'm not going anywhere with you. I-I'm not going." She glanced back at the woods.

"You're not going to take her anywhere," Sam said. His attempt at an authoritative voice made her laugh.

"Oh, that's cute, really."

Aidan quickly put her hand in her pocket, pulling out the offending broken vile and tossing it on the ground. Dean's eyebrow rose again at that, but what caught his attention was when something else came out. As the woman took her hand from her pocket, a small cross fell as well. Dean instantly reached and snatched it before the woman could respond. He looked over it, his eyes widening as he tossed it to his brother. On the cross were multiple symbols carved into it. Each one was from a different religion to ward off evil. He gave his brother a meaningful look.

"Give that back. Now." Aidan held out her hand, her focus on the patient momentarily distracted.

"What's this?" Sam recognized several of the symbols' possible origins. "No… Are you a-?" He slowly looked back up at the woman.

But before Aidan could answer, there was a blur at the corners of their eyes.

The patient set off, running as hard as she could to the woods where there was a visible entrance among the trees.

"Dammit!"

Forgetting about her cross, Aidan bolted after the patient. Two men got in her way. Her true identity was revealed. And now she'd lost her cross. With an angry sigh, she ran after the girl, renewed by her drive to get her and take care of this mess once and for all.

Dean watched the pair run off and looked at his brother, setting off after the women. "Always running. Come on Sammy, we got to get your fire starter."

Sam pocketed the cross and went after his brother, quickly catching up to him with his long legs.

Glancing back, the patient saw the woman behind her drawing nearer, and then the two men behind her. The forest floor was littered with sticks and roots but there was nothing that could've been done. She suppressed the jabs of pain at her feet with her own drive and adrenalin—escape and survival. She had to get out of there. She would figure out what to do, where to go, after she lost them. The road wasn't even half a mile away.

"Stop! Please!" Aidan yelled after her as she ran. "Look, I just want to talk. Just stop there for a second."

If the girl got to the road, things were going to get decidedly more difficult. Liz looked back and began to slow. Her feet bled, too.

"Look." Aidan stopped and paused, taking out her gun, and throwing it the side where it landed in a bush about 15 feet from her. "It's gone! I can't hurt you!"

The sun was almost complete set by this time, and a darkness had settled over the forest. As he and his brother got closer, Dean realized that the fake Marshal had stopped. He held up a hand to try and keep his brother back for a moment, just listening.

"You can ask me anything you want. Just talk with me for a minute," Aidan tried again.

The patient gritted her teeth from landing on a thick stick and leaned forward, panting. When she rose, she yelled to her, "I'm not a criminal!" Her voice was hoarse. She breathed heavily. "What do you want from me?"

"I don't think you're a criminal. I can see that now, but I have to know. You started that fire, didn't you?" Aidan was careful to keep her hands where the girl could see them. "Who are you?"

Incredible fear and guilt washed over the patient. She took a small step back, having made a big mistake in stopping. A few tears flooded her eyes.

"No one!" she answered at last. "Go back to where you came from!" She took another step.

Sam watched from where he stood with his brother, watching the women between trees. He fought the urge to step out and intervene. The fake Marshal was being careful though, he had to admit. The woman had enough tact. But if the patient started running again, they'd definitely loose her.

"Elizabeth Moreaux?" Aidan asked, watching her reactions carefully. The patient gave a reaction to the name. "This was the fifteenth wasn't it?"

Casually, Aidan took a couple steps forward, though quickly stopped to keep from spooking the patient further. "I know you don't mean to start the fires, Liz." She'd read the girl's file up and down, and was 99.9% positive that the patient standing in front of her was in fact Elizabeth Moreaux.

"No!" the patient denied. She started crying silently—not the cry of a little girl, for she wasn't a teenager, but a cry of culpability and a dark fate. "That's not me." She began backing away. Uh-oh for Aidan.

But, seeing the situation only worsening, without saying anything, Sam suddenly stepped out from behind his and his brother's cluster of trees and revealed himself.

The patient jumped.

"Wait," Sam raised his hands. "Don't go. Please don't run," he called. "I'm not going to hurt you." He glanced back at his brother briefly. "We're not going to hurt you." He glanced at Aidan, giving her a warning look.

"I promise. Please don't run away again."

Aidan had to stifle an annoyed groan. She rolled her eyes.

"Liz, I know I'm not mistaken. And…you were right—I'm not a marshal." She faced Liz again. "I can't vouch for anything they say, but I won't hurt you and I can help you." She gestured to the girl's feet. "Look, your feet are bleeding. We should take care of them."

Dean didn't say anything as he stepped out as well.

"Please, I just want to talk. You can ask me anything you want. A question for a question, and I promise to answer truthfully. Just don't run," Aidan continued.

Liz looked between the three of them before returning to the woman. She gathered courage to ask: "Who are you really then?"

Sam walked towards them, taking slow steps and still keeping his hands raised. Fortunately, when the patient looked at him, she remained where she was.

"I'm-" Aidan started. Quickly, she glanced back at Sam, but the glance was brief because she had to keep her eye on Liz.

Dean watched intently, wondering how close Sam would be able to get.

"You," she said to Sam. "You stay where you are." He stopped. She was flanked by him and Dean, and it didn't make her happy.

"I'm Rue, Aidan Rue, and I have been trying to figure out what's been starting these fires." She took a deep, calm breath, watching the patient in front of her. There was no change in Liz's expression—she was grave.

Having stopped, Sam met the patient's eyes for a brief moment.

Aidan resumed. "My turn: Are you Elizabeth, better known as Liz?"

Liz thought about running again, even lifting up one of her heals slightly to dash. "How did you find out about me?"

Sam clenched his fists, wanting to ask her his own questions. He feared he'd lose his chance.

Aidan Rue shrugged. "I've been tracking the fires. It took some research and narrowing down, but you were at every single one of them. I didn't know what you were, so I had to find out. Do you think we could ask these questions a little more comfortably? Like… are you hungry maybe? We could get some food, if you'd like."

But trust wasn't going to come so easily. Liz looked at the men. "How did _they_ find me?" she asked instead.

Sam took this as a cue and took a stride before glancing back at Dean, who had his brow drawn and lips pressed together.

"We didn't track the other fires," Sam said. The idea of more burning asylums was unsettling, and with Aidan there, this was going to be a lot harder. "But we're here to help you, too. I promise that my brother and I won't hurt you." He looked at Aidan, his expression sincerely truthful.

But Liz's gaze darkened. "I don't need your help."

"I don't speak for them however," Aidan said with a shrug. "I've never seen them before." She looked back at Sam, instantly side stepping away from him for every pace that he came closer.

"Thanks for the help," Dean said with an annoyed drawl.

"I don't know who these guys are," Rue continued, "but the very least I can do is get you some clothes and some food. Running around in a hospital gown is going to land you not only in the news but also probably back in a hospital."

"People do tend to frown on that kind of thing," Dean agreed.

Sam briefly looked at his brother and Rue.

"So let us help you, Liz. There won't be any more guns. I promise. Please? Let's just talk." Though he couldn't deny that he was a bit nervous, Sam was sure this would help him–Dean too–with somehow finding the Yellow-Eyed Demon.

Liz watched them all impassively, looking from face to face. She didn't know what to do. A chill came over her and she looked up at the sky. It was already dark. Only the tiniest of sunrays remained far ahead on the horizon. They'd vanish any minute.

"Okay." Her answer was short and monotone.

Sam smiled and released a breath he hadn't realized he'd held.

"Okay, then." Aidan smiled too. Knowing now that Liz probably wouldn't run off, she glanced back at the brothers before back at Liz.

"My hotel is the one just down the road. I think I've got some clothes that should fit you. Then we'll get you some other ones."

"The motel at Cheyenne and Melbourne?" Dean asked. Aidan turned and looked at him, nodding. "Good, that's ours too. We'll take the Impala."

"Are you okay with that?" Aidan asked Liz.

Liz nodded hesitantly. "Sure."

Sam gave his brother a relieved look. "Let's go then. Our car is parked in front of the hospital."

Liz slowly began to approach them, holding her elbows from the increasing cold. There was nowhere else to go so she had to take her chances then.

"Here." Aidan slipped out of her jacket and handed it to Liz. Though she was wearing a short-sleeved shirt underneath, the patient had to be colder. "It'll help you blend in a little more till we get to the motel too." She first took her gun that she had dropped and then she went to Sam and held out her hand while they walked.

"Cross, please."

Sam reached into his pocket. He looked at the cross briefly again and then handed it over. "We'll talk with you later too," he told her.

Aidan arched an eyebrow. He was tall, but she was tall for a woman, and he didn't intimidate her. "That's fine, just keep in mind, I'm not the one on trial here. I'll leave when I want to."

She wasn't trying to be mean. She was simply reminding him that she also carried a gun and was quite capable of handling herself. Shoving her hands into her pockets, the brunette quickened her stride to hurry after the other two. She'd have to come back for her own car another time.

Sam was left a little taken aback by her answer.

Liz had put on the coat Aidan gave her. It smelled like faintly like perfume and was warm.

Dean looked over at the fire starter as the four made their way out of the woods.

"So, what kind of food do you like? I think there's a bar or a diner near the hotel."

Was this one a few marbles short or just shy and nervous? Dean just couldn't figure it out. But with all the medication Liz had been pumped with before—the sudden lack of them was in fact making her feel off, and look off. But Dean noticed she was cute at least, albeit dirty. Dean might've been kind of shallow, but he noticed these things right away. And she didn't have an attitude like Aidan Rue.

"Diner," Liz answered him, keeping her eyes ahead.

"We'll go to the diner," Sam confirmed, overhearing. "I'm sure they're still open." He looked at his wristwatch and saw it was a little past 7 PM.

Aidan strode ahead of him, back straight, her gaze determined like one of those female cops. The brothers looked at each other—their hunts usually didn't take such turns. But Dean was a little excited with being in a situation with women. Aidan was hot. Maybe both men could take one.

But Sam, obviously, never thought like his brother. He watched Liz as they made their way off the hospital's land, to the Impala. She looked innocent, but she could've been like Andy's brother.


	3. Ramble On

Got no time to for spreadin' roots, The time has come to be gone.  
And to' our health we drank a thousand times, it's time to Ramble On.

~ Led Zeppelin

* * *

"So, I think those should fit. They might be a little big, but at least they'll be comfortable for you."

Rue gave Liz a pair of jeans and a Rocky Horror t-shirt. They were back in her motel room, and things actually seemed to be going rather well. The guys were back in their own room waiting for them. As soon as they were ready, they'd be meeting up again.

"You can take a shower if you want? The guys can wait."

"Okay. Thanks."

Liz glanced around the room for a third or fourth time, unable to calm her uneasiness. The décor was awfully pink for some reason, outdated, and it smelled the way motel rooms smelled. 45 dollars got Aidan a roof over her head. The sheets were clean, but sitting on the floor wasn't probably a good idea. There was a knife on the table. Well, it was partly covered by a duffle bag and sheathed but Liz was sure it was a knife.

"I'll try to be quick," she promised.

She started for the bathroom, considering running after showering. The door closed behind her and the lock locked. There was nowhere for her to go but out the exit if she tried to escape.

So Rue stepped outside of the room, looking down the balcony and over the parking lot. She was on the second floor. The men were on the first. And there was their Impala, reflecting the streetlamps and moon on its roof. The men were nowhere in sight, probably in their own room. Part of Aidan didn't understand why she was there—she should've taken Liz away from the guys, not stayed in town, as if they were working together or something. Liz was _her_ mark. Who did those guys think they were? She didn't even know their names. Once they would all be situated around a table, though, perhaps Rue would feel better. All she had to do was wait.

Fortunately Liz took only ten minutes and now looked normal, the soot that covered her completely gone. She looked normal, pretty even—but not the type of girl to wear a Rocky Horror shirt. The jeans were a bit too long and the sneakers she got from Aidan a bit too big. The two women met the men in the lobby and silently went to the diner across the street. Even though it was evening and dinner rush, they somehow managed to get a secluded booth away from the rest of the customers, and after the waitress took down their orders, they were finally left alone.

CCR played overhead.

Seated beside Dean, Sam gave his brother a small look. They needed to ask what they needed to know.

Liz looked at them, seeing their exchanges. It made her uneasy. A silence settled over them as they waited. Everyone wanted to say something, but no one wanted to be first or really knew how to say what they wanted to.

"Awkward…" Dean said as he lifted his glass of Coke to his mouth and took a gulp through the straw.

Rue took her own drink. "So who are you two then?" she asked finally. "If you hadn't been tracking the fire, why were you there?"

Sam looked away a moment, thinking. "We didn't know about the past fires, but we knew about this one. I'm Sam," he said, "and this is my brother Dean."

Liz watched the three, not moving a muscle beside Aidan. The lemon in her water was just as still among the ice. Liz's wet hair stuck all to one shoulder, dripping. When not panicked, she was a serious one.

"So you're a hunter?" Dean blurted out. Rue was visibly taken aback by his bluntness and quickly looked at Liz.

"I…" Unsure of how to answer, Rue just nodded. "I am. You guys?"

"Yeah. Dean and Sam Winchester," the older brother said with a nod before looking over at Liz curiously, prolonging his stare for a beat. She looked across at him and his brother but didn't meet his eyes, just stared at something he couldn't figure out.

"Winchester?" The name stuck out to Aidan.

"You're hunters?" Liz said, their conversation at last sinking in. Though she obviously didn't understand the underlying meaning of the words, a sudden apprehension arose before she could stop it. "You hunt-?"

"Uh…" Sam looked at his brother.

Liz looked at Aidan and shifted in order to lean closer to the wall.

"It's really not…what it sounds," Rue tried to say. "You see-" Oh, how was she going to explain this? "A hunter…" The woman paused, trying to think of words she could use to not creep the girl out.

"You were right when you said we're not cops, though in a way we kind of are." Rue turned in her seat so that she could better face Liz, who sat still. "As you probably know, there are things out there that just don't seem quite right. Things that…people can't explain."

It didn't entirely dawn on Liz. But deep inside, a revelation grew. "What do you mean?" she asked cautiously.

Aidan looked at the brothers and kept her voice down. "It's the supernatural. Well, as hunters, we make sure people are safe from supernatural things."

They would've been more cautious if Liz was an ordinary civilian. Sam braced himself. Dean watched her.

"Sounds kind of weird, huh?" the older brother said. One of his eyes narrowed slightly as he smirked. "But it's a living," he said nonchalantly, and leaned back and put an arm on the back of the bench.

Liz stared at them.

"Let me out." She stood without another thought.

Sam rose just as suddenly. "Wait, wait. We won't hurt you. I know it sounds crazy." He gave Dean and Rue scolding glances.

Liz said nothing. She was fleeing again from panic, but she wasn't calling them insane. It was like someone saying nightmares were real—and you didn't need the confirmation form someone.

"If you want, we'll let you go after we eat. But right now we just want to talk – if you just give us a chance," Sam went on. He sounded desperate. Dean was a little embarrassed, looked around at the other customers, who fortunately didn't look their way.

"What do you want to talk about?" Liz asked. "I don't understand. What do you want?"

Though Rue usually had tact, she didn't see what was wrong with her explanation. It was the truth after all and she hadn't been too terribly blunt.

Dean didn't understand Liz's reaction. "So wait, you think we're crazy for being hunters-"

"I didn't call you crazy," Liz interrupted.

Dean continued. "And yet… you can start and survive a blazing fire?"

Liz said nothing again. Her jaw clenched. Her eyes were full of fear. She didn't trust any of them.

"Maybe we should talk about something else for a little while," Rue suggested. "Or would you feel better if you were asking the questions?" she asked Liz.

Liz slowly sat down, followed by Sam.

Liz started asking at once. "What do you want from me? Do you want me to confess that I burned down that hospital? I don't remember anything," she told them, shaking her head. "I swear. I wasn't lying to you."

Sam frowned. In his vision, this girl was sleeping, so maybe it was the truth.

"You don't remember anything?" he asked. "Nothing?"

"You think I didn't it all on purpose?" Liz said bitterly.

"It's kind of hard to tell," Dean said with a shrug. That struck a nerve with her. "We knew nothing about these other apparent fires that… What was your name again?" He looked at Aidan.

"Aidan Rue," she supplied, watching Liz carefully.

"Yeah, that Rue had researched. I'd also recommend watching the volume of your voice as well, Liz," Dean suggested calmly. "We are kind of close to the hospital." A flash of a grin appeared on his face as he took another slurp from his straw. Liz looked away.

"We're just trying to figure things out," Aidan said gently. "And maybe if you can help us out, we can return the favor."

The real reason she'd been after Liz was because she'd thought Liz had been some kind of spirit or demon. She was human, and Rue didn't really know what to do with her.

Liz was irritated. "No one can help me," she mumbled.

"How do you know?" Sam said. "You didn't even give us a chance."

"It doesn't stop," she told them, staring out the dark window beside her. "Not even any meds could stop it. You can't either. And I feel like shit," she added. Medication withdrawal.

Although Sam was the caring one usually, he couldn't help but hear only the first part. "Stop what? When this happens?" He spoke carefully. "Why does it happen?"

Liz clenched her jaw, propping her elbow onto the table, staring at the parking lot outside and the many headlights. She refused to answer. It was beginning to rain outside but she saw right passed it. She didn't want to talk about it. Her eyes silently began to fill.

The sight had Aidan sighing. She wanted answers, but not by scaring or forcing Liz to give them.

"Boys, I think that's enough for now. Let's just enjoy some food, hm?"

The woman took a sip from her drink, looking curiously over the rim of the glass she held at the two men. Wondering if she was checking him out, Dean smirked at her. Aidan looked away from him.

"How are your clothes fitting, Liz?"

Liz nodded and quickly wiped her eyes with her other hand. "Good. Thank you."

Then the waitress finally came, two plates on both her arms, and put their dinner before them.

"Sorry it took so long," she said, but her indolent tone contradicted her apology. "Enjoy your food." Without carrying to take notice of the group's mood, she forced a smile and left.

Sam slowly picked up his fork and looked at Liz from under his bangs. She stared at her burger but did not touch it. He felt instant guilt. He screwed it up. He knew it.

"So, Liz, now that you're out, what do you plan on doing? Seeing the sites? Moving to the city, what?" Dean asked before taking a rather large bite of his bacon chicken sandwich. "The world is your oyster."

Liz glanced at him, not answering still. It wasn't funny. Dean's smile drifted away and he just took another bite.

Rue lifted part of her club sandwich to her mouth and took a bite as she turned her head to look at Liz.

"If you need something," she said after swallowing. "I'm sure we can help you get it. Money, clothes, whatever."

"Money doesn't grow on tress," Dean said. "And you shouldn't start her up with a credit card fraud right off the bat."

"It almost sounds like you care, Dean," Rue said with a smirk. "And I wasn't talking about credit fraud."

"I don't…I don't really have anywhere to go," Liz admitted. "So I don't know what I'm going to do now."

"How about your parents?" asked Sam.

Liz looked down at her food. "I don't know. I was in foster care."

At the admittance, everyone seemed momentarily quiet.

"That's ok. You'll be-"

"I'm sorry, is there something wrong with your burger, Miss?" A waitress asked, interrupting Rue. She wrung her hands out in front of her, looking slightly worried.

"Oh." Liz looked up. "No. It's fine." She nodded and purposefully took one of her fries, putting it in her mouth, and then took a drink of her coke.

"We're fine here," Sam assured. "Thanks."

Though she still looked unsure, the waitress nodded and moved off to go question another table.

"This is fun." Dean popped a fry into his mouth and swallowed it. "So when did they start?" At the look he received from Rue, he continued anyway. "The fires?"

"Nine years ago." Aidan glanced over at Liz briefly after speaking. "Would you mind sharing with us some of your experiences? You said you couldn't control them and that the meds couldn't control them either. What were they trying to control?"

Sam furrowed his brows in confusion.

Liz didn't meet any of their eyes as she unenthusiastically ate her fries. "Anxiety, depression, hallucinations. They thought I had schizophrenia."

"So they started nine years ago?" Sam said. "It didn't start happening a year ago or anything?" Liz shook her head.

Sam looked at Dean. This didn't fit the pattern.

"Liz, how old are you?" Sam said.

"22."

"Legal, alright," Dean said with a laugh grin. He immediately coughed to try and cover it, lifting a hand to wipe his mouth. "Er." He tried to force himself to be a little more serious as he looked over at her. "If they happened in your sleep, was it because of some… excitement?"

"Dean!" Rue snapped at him, thinking she knew where he was going with that.

"No, no! That's not what I meant. What I meant was, were you excited or scared? Why did it just start in your sleep? There has to be a reason."

Sam's eyes had widened at his brother's tactlessness. Liz gritted her teeth.

"I had nightmares."

Sam spoke gently. "About what?"

Liz looked away at once. Her eyes glazed over again.

"I'm sorry, I know this is hard," Rue said. "Why don't we box the food and get it to go, hm?" she offered. "We should get back to the hotel and call it a night. I'm sure you're tired, Liz."

Dean was silent and he looked like he wanted to protest. Looking at his brother, he nodded, and picked up a napkin, wiping his mouth. "Okay, we'll head back." Lifting his hand he gestured to the waitress and smiled. "Check, please."

Sam turned at Liz again. "Liz, I'm sorry."

She didn't answer him, and there was silence until the waitress returned with the check.

"Can I get a box?" she asked the waitress, who returned with boxes for all.

With Dean picking of the bill, the four of them were free to leave. Rue stood up and shifted over, standing so that Liz could get out. Soon enough the rumble of the Impala eased them into the parking lot of the motel.

"Are you two heading to bed then?" Dean asked as he got out, locking the door.

"I don't think I am right away. Liz?" Rue tugged on the edge of her jacket slightly to correct its placement after getting out of the car.

Liz shrugged.

Sam exchanged a look with his brother. They started to the motel's entrance. "Rue, when did you get here? Today?" he asked.

"Earlier today, yeah," she said, falling into step beside him. "I had to drive from Nebraska, and got here earlier this morning. What about you guys?"

"We got here maybe twenty minutes before we ran into you guys and your little cat fight," Dean responded.

"You said you weren't following the fires, but if that's the case. Why were you here?"

"Uh…" Sam looked at the ground a moment. "It's a long story, but we knew about this fire. We're sorta," he glanced at his brother, "trying to find a lead on something we're tracking. We kinda thought this might help us."

"Tracking what?" Liz asked, alarmed.

"Um." Sam hesitated.

"Smokey the bear," Dean intervened. "Not the cute and cuddly cub like the Downey bear." As they headed inside, he paused by the front desk. "Do you guys need to get a second room or anything?"

"No, my room already has two beds. We should be fine." Rue looked over at Sam, wondering what he was talking about before looking at Liz. "Want to go get settled? I can lend you some pajamas if you want."

Liz's eyes lingered on the brothers a second. "Sure."

"Our room's 28," Sam said.

* * *

Liz was settled on the bed closest to the bathroom, watching TV, switching through the channels because she hadn't been able to watch TV normally for what seemed like forever. The Hospital didn't let them peruse through the stations. They kept the television on one channel, whatever the nurses through was least violent, scary, or complicated. PG-rated stuff. Liz stared without blinking.

"Liz, I'm just going to talk to the guys for a few minutes, okay?" Aidan gave her a smile as she went to the door.

Liz merely said, "Okay," and continued watching, before settling on a chick flick movie. Aidan watched her for a moment or two, wondering if she should leave at all. But Liz didn't move a muscle—it was creepy, but Aidan also assumed Liz was still medicated. So she then left at last.

Room 28 was on the first floor. She headed to her right where the wooden plank stairs were and quickly skipped down them. As she neared the room, she could see that the light and TV were on but things seemed to be kind of quiet. She lightly knocked on the door.

Inside the room, on his computer, Sam sat at the table near the door. When he heard the knock, he stood and glanced at Dean.

"Who is it?" Sam called.

"Maid service," Rue said, shaking her head.

Looking through the peephole, Sam saw who had arrived and unlocked the door.

"Expecting someone else?"

"A turn down service would be nice," Dean said with a smirk, meaningfully wiggling his brows at her. Rue just rolled her eyes.

"I was wondering if we could trade a little bit of information," she explained, her gaze going back and forth between the brothers.

"Okay." Sam closed the door and stepped back. "Good idea." He briefly returned to his computer and shut it. "Is Liz sleeping?" he asked.

"She was watching TV when I left, but not asleep." Following Sam further into the room, Aidan went to one of the chairs beside the bed and sat down. "So you said that you hadn't been tracking the fires but knew about this one. Why was some hospital fire so important to you that you had to go and check it out?"

"We're trying to track down a demon," Sam said. "And we thought this might have had something to do with it." Though it was now safe to talk, he and his brother couldn't tell everything. "But we don't know yet."

"A demon?" Rue watched as Dean set out his things to begin sharpening one of his blades. "How do you track a demon? Or are you just following its aftermath?"

"Pretty much, yeah. The demon tends to use fire as a calling card. Seemed like the next logical place to go." Dean glanced up periodically as he spoke, though mostly concentrated on his work.

"Well, if that's the case, then maybe this could help you."

Rue had been holding a large college lined notebook that was aged from use. It had pages sticking out of it and strange angles and seemed positively stuffed. Settling on the bed empty, she opened and flipped through some of the pages.

"Well, this is what I have on the fires…" she began setting out loose pages paper that had news articles taped to them. There were fifteen pages. Aside from that, she showed them her scrawled notes that had random ideas and lists of patients all over them.

"This is what I have."

Sam approached her and looked down at the research, taking a moment to skim over the papers that caught his eye.

"Liz's name appeared in each hospital's list. Is this all you knew about her?" he asked her. "What did you think you'd find when you came here?"

Rue looked down at the clippings and shrugged. "Honestly, I didn't know what I'd find. I wasn't sure if I'd find a spirit that had attached itself to her or what. I just knew something was up. Surviving 1 fire? 5 Fires? Fine, but 15?" The girl looked up at Sam and shook her head. "That's just not right. There's something about her. She was in every single hospital."

Dean put his knife down and walked over to his brother and Rue. "But now that you know it's her?"

"Just because I know it's her doesn't mean the problem is solved. Something is causing these fires, I know it." There was something about the guys, something they weren't saying. "What is it? What do you know?"

Sam stared at the papers.

"Well, I think it has to do with these hallucinations." He raised his eyes. "We have to ask her more about them somehow. Get her to." Sam looked at Dean. "Then we'll see what to do."

"Good luck with that, though," he said with a small snort. "She kind of a basket case."

"She's lived her life in a hospital, Dean. That can tend to happen," Rue said. "I don't know how we'd get her to talk about it except for time, and if you guys are tracking a demon, time isn't something we have."

"So then we have to try to talk to her again. She has to know we're really going to try to help her," Sam said. "Can you try to convince her, Aidan, just to talk for ten minutes at least?"

Rue grinned and shook her head.

"I have been trying, but I'll keep it up. Hopefully she'll feel a little better in the morning." She got up from her chair and looked at them. "I'll just leave this with you guys, in case you want to look through it. Oh, would you mind taking me back to the hospital tomorrow? I left my truck."

"Yeah, we can do that. You just talk to Liz and see if you can get her to calm down a little," Dean said, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Will do. See you tomorrow, boys," the woman said with a grin and slipped out the door.

Dean had his eyes on her ass.

"I still don't buy that she's a hunter," he said. "But _mm_—I got dibs. You can take Winona Ryder." He started to the bathroom. "But then again—" He seemed he couldn't make a decision.

Sam rolled his eyes. He sat down on his bed and looked at Rue's notes. "Aidan's organized, though. Does her research well."

"Yeah, and I can write a grocery list but that doesn't make me Shakespeare." Women weren't hunters. It was a plain and simple well-known fact. "Once you're done mooning, Sammy, turn out the lights, will ya?" Dean shut the bathroom door, the sound of rusty old pipes coming through the walls as he started the shower.

"Yeah. I'm not mooning." After he finished, Sam collected the papers back into the notebook and put it on the table.

Hopefully tomorrow would bring them some luck.

* * *

Dean shoved the other half of the powdered donut into his mouth and was working on brushing the excess dust off of his chest as he drove on through a traffic light. They had all gotten up, eaten breakfast, and actually managed to not fight or argue.

Rue pointed old red Ford F150.

"That's it right there," she said. Dean pulled up behind it and put the Impala in park.

"Nice ride," he commented with some derision.

"It gets me where I need to go, thanks," she responded.

She got out of the car and headed over to her truck. Liz tensed now that she was alone with the men. After unlocking the driver's side door, Aidan promptly tried to start the truck and grinned as it came to life. However, that was as far as it got. Nearly as soon as the engine turned over, the truck sputtered and died. The others watched.

"No… not this time! Come ON!" Aidan yelled. She hit the dashboard with her fist before trying to start the car several more times to no avail.

Sam raised a brow and got out. Though he hadn't expected anything fancy, the rusty steed made him chuckle slightly.

"Did this happen before?" he asked Rue. "Maybe my brother and I could help."

Liz remained in the car. She looked pained, seeing the hospital again—in morning daylight. The asylum's ruins were two blocks away and seen from where they were. She did her best to not stare at it but still felt its presence. It was haunting.

"Unfortunately," Rue began as she started to get out of the car with what looked like a large wrench in her hand. "Yes. It's happened a lot."

The woman went to the front of the car and popped the hood before climbing up to stand on the bumper. Her ass was in the air. Sam glanced at it, then his glance turned into a stare. When he realized what he was doing, he quickly looked away. She then began hitting some part of the engine with the end of the wrench, loud clanging signs echoing.

"Whoa, whoa! That's not how you fix cars," Dean called out to them, quickly getting out of his own.

"You're right, but monsters like this one, you have to be a little more loving." Rue struck the motor again and then hopped down before going to try and turn it on. The engine rumbled to life.

"Hah! There you see! Works every-" the truck died again. Aidan just slumped in her seat.

Sam smirked.

"How long have you had it?" he said. Stopping behind Dean, he looked into the hood of the truck. Unfortunately, his brother was the better specialist. "Can you do something?"

"Let me work my magic." Grinning, Dean leaned over the engine, looking at it. There were shiny little nicks all over the engine from where Rue had tried to beat the truck into submission. That was only one of the things. It took about five minutes of fiddling, but he finally looked back over at them.

"I'd start playing "Taps.""

"What? Why?"

"Well, if I had to guess, I'd say your fuel pump is out. While that's not a problem, I'd guess you've also got crap in the gas lines. Oh, and your transmission is leaking. With a truck this old, it's not worth fixing." He wiped his hands on his pants. "That's only what I can see briefly."

Rue groaned. "So I've got to scrap it."

Dean nodded. "The good thing about these older cars though is that they're heavier than most of the modern ones, so they get a nice scrap price."

"It was my first truck…" the woman said, gloomy.

"I'm sure it ran great in its heyday," Sam offered, giving her a small smile. "We'll help you get it towed." He glanced back at the Impala, to see if Liz was still there, and saw her silhouette behind the glare on the windshield.

"Do you have a lot of stuff in the back?" Sam returned to Aidan.

"Eh, just some weapons and things. Can I throw them in the back of the Impala for now?" Aidan looked over at Dean as she walked to the back of her truck. The man just nodded, already dialing on his phone to find a towing service.

"Well, at least I'll get some cash for it. That'll help Liz out." She shrugged and pulled her bag out of the trunk and headed to the Impala.

Liz watched from inside, quickly guessing that their luck had failed. She felt relief because Aidan wasn't leaving.

Sam walked to the car as well, following Aidan.

"That's all your stuff?" he asked her. Moving some things, he made room between his and his brother's stuff. "There."

"Tow truck will be here in ten," Dean announced as he walked back to them.

Though it might have seemed like a bad start to the day, when the tow truck got there, luck started to smile. Rue's truck was considered a classic since it was old, and the tow truck driver actually bought it off of her for a couple hundred, more than scrap price.

"I could have done worse than 400," she said with a grin.

They returned to the Impala. "Just means you're buying dinner tonight," Dean said.

"Where are we going now?" Liz said as Aidan sat next to her.

Sam looked at his brother. "I don't know. Maybe back to the hotel?" They couldn't leave Tulsa yet. They still needed to settle the situation they were in.

Liz nodded, looking away.

"Seems like the best option," Dean agreed. "We'll get back to the hotel and figure out what we're doing."

He glanced at the rearview mirror. He had no idea what they were going to do with Liz, but apparently they'd figure that out with time. Dean wasn't ever good about sticking long with a woman. Although this wasn't the same as banging a chick, he began to feel uneasy.

The rest of the drive was mostly silent. They came back to the motel quickly, for it had been close, and the four went to the brothers' room. Liz was nervous. She didn't know they'd do with her. She felt like a goddamn child. Where would she go?

Sam went to give Rue her notebook back. "We looked at it last night. Here. It's good."

"Oh, thanks." Rue accepted her notebook and set it on the table and sat down. The rest remained standing. "Liz we should get you some clothes later and get you set up. I guess in a way I'm out of a hunt. Time to do some more research."

Dean watched as she shrugged her shoulders, and he looked over at his brother turning to Liz. "What are your plans, Liz?"

She looked at him incredulously, arms crossed. "How can you expect me to have plans?"

"Are you sure you don't have anywhere to go?" Sam asked.

Liz nodded. "I don't have anyone." She thought they were going to help her.

"How about grandparents or uncles or aunts maybe?"

"No. I was adopted, but no one's left." She felt miserable now.

"Well," Rue started, "why don't you stay with me for a little while? I mean, I travel a lot, but you could until you get your feet under you."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "How do you expect to do that with no car?"

"I'm going to just get another. I don't really have a choice." The woman shrugged nonchalantly once more.

Sam watched them for a moment, something on his mind. "When were you adopted, Liz?"

Liz took a beat, hesitant. "When I was a baby, after my mother died."

Sam glanced at Dean. Sam just had to ask the final question. He took a step towards her. "She didn't…she didn't die in a nursery fire, did she?"

Liz started. "That's what I was told. How did you know?"

A surge of anxiety went through Sam, seeped into his voice. He looked at his brother again. "But she doesn't fit the pattern. It doesn't make sense, Dean."

"What doesn't?" Liz said. "What?"

"Pattern?" Rue looked at the brothers, suspicious.

"Neither did Andy, but he was still one of them." Dean ignored Rue's question. "She still could be one."

Her annoyance growing at being ignored, Rue tried again. "One what?"

"What are you talking about?" Liz demanded. They said they were hunters. So was she in reality…the one who was being 'hunted'? Did they lie to her? "Jesus Christ." She backpedaled instructively to the door.

Sam spun at once, raising his hands. "No, no, no, Liz. It's okay. We won't hurt you. I promise."

Liz stopped, still frightened, but glanced back at the door.

Sam returned to Dean. "Her fires started nine years ago. It's far different than Andy's circumstance."

The man shrugged and looked back over at Liz as he spoke. "But you had the dream about Andy. She has to fit into it somehow."

Aidan stood from her chair. "Andy? Dream? Can someone fill me in please? Can you not see you're scaring her half to death?"

Dean held Sam's gaze. "The Demon is always involved."

"Demon?" Liz looked frantically to Aidan. "What demon?"

"Liz." Sam turned to her, his intensity bubbling up to the surface—something new to Liz and Aidan since they haven't been with each other for long. He was so earnest, so desperate. He rounded on Liz but didn't touch her. "Liz, what do you see when you hallucinate? Do you remember your nightmares?"

"No. N-no." Liz stepped away from him, half scared, half weirded out.

"I know this is hard, Liz, but you have to tell us. So we can help you. It's the only way. Please trust us," he said.

Liz looked down and swallowed hard. She stared at the floor, heart pounding, her gaze blurring. She took what felt like the longest time to gather herself. It was like confessing to a shrink—and most didn't believe her. How could they believe her? She felt like she was crazier than what doctors told her.

"I see a m-man. With yellow eyes."

Sam looked at Dean in alarm.

Dean's gaze sharpened. He too approached her.

"Glowing yellow eyes, and a smug smirk." He couldn't believe it. Another of Sam's visions had been true. Why he doubted them, he wasn't quite sure, but it had just seemed so unlikely. "Liz, we know who was giving you the hallucinations."

Liz looked at him like her stomach had been ripped out of her body. She begged for years for what she had been going through to not be true—she believed the doctors. She preferred to be crazy instead of it being true. She wanted to challenge Dean and call him the crazy one.

Rue was now quiet though, listening.

"A demon?" Liz said disbelievingly, eyes wide and watering.

"Yes," Sam nodded, "and we've been trying to kill him."

"But…" she stared at them incredulously. "How can—how can demons exist?" This is what they meant about supernatural? "They can't be real. They're not real. The doctors—"

Liz looked at Rue, seeing that she wasn't nearly as shocked.

"The doctors don't know. We all wish they weren't real, but they are and this demon killed our mom too, Liz. When I was a baby," Sam told her. "She died in a nursery fire just like yours."

"There is the whole thing with you starting this huge fire, too. Can you control fire, Liz?" Dean came right out and asked.

"They've got a point, Liz. Is it really that hard to believe in demons when you've kind of… Well, with the fire thing?" Rue asked. It didn't seem like too great of a leap to her.

"I-I-" Liz's heart beat a mile a minute. "I don't have control. I don't know what I do."

"But it's called Pyrokinesis, right?" Sam asked. He wondered if it was safe to tell her about his own ability. Rue was there. Could he risk it? "We've already met a few people like you, Liz. They can't do what you can, but they have abilities too."

Liz looked at him like he was crazy. "What?"

Now Rue was looking at the brothers speculatively, but remained quiet.

Dean shrugged. "People. With abilities. Granted we've never found any with the ability to have fire, but we've found our fair share.".

"So we won't harm you," Sam assured Liz. She no longer tried to get away. "Do you know if the demon told you anything?" he asked her. "In your nightmare. Did he say anything? We need to know. Did he talk to you?"

"H-he-" she stuttered. "No."

"Are you sure?"

Liz licked her lips, dizzy.

"He said they needed to die. H-he said I had to k-kill them. For what they did. I had to do it. I d-didn't want to. I said no, but he said I had to do it. He said they deserved it." She felt crazy. "I told him I couldn't do it. I-I couldn't kill them, but-"

"He made you," Sam finished.

"I swear I told him no. He made it happen. I lost control. I can never stop it. W-when I wake up, it's too late. Fuck Abilify and Seroquel—it's all bullshit, I told the doctors. The pills don't do anything, and they raise my dose." Her eyes were already overflowing. She breathed deeply, feeling out of breath. "I k-kill everyone!"

Rue stood up and went to Liz's side, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Liz, it isn't your fault." Though she didn't know all it—it was enough. "You don't want to kill those people. It's this demon's fault. Not your own."

"And we're gonna kill this demon, Liz," Dean said. "We've been trying to track him down."

Liz glanced at him through her tears, feeling a slightly better from his determination. She saw determination in both brothers.

"So where will I go? He'll come back. It'll happen again," she said, wiping her eyes. "It always happens again."

"You'll come with us," said Sam. He didn't look at Dean, knowing they hadn't discussed the sudden plan. "For a little while at least. In case he comes back. It might be safer that way." Sam glanced at Rue. "Dean and I've been up against him before. We can get him if he tries to do it again."

Aidan's eyes narrowed on them. "I'm sorry, but how am I supposed to believe that you're going to protect her? You're hunters. I know how you work. Why would you spare her?"

Dean turned to her. "What's to stop us from saying the same about you? We're not going to harm her, but why wouldn't you?"

Her mouth twisted into a slight sneer. "Because I said I wouldn't."

"Well, we won't either," said Sam. "You're just going to have to trust us. We've met others like her before," he reminded. "And this will help all three of us."

Liz wiped her eyes. "So I'm going to go with you two?"

There was silence for a moment or two before Dean nodded. "Looks like it."

Rue was skeptical. But there was nothing she could say against them really. "Is John your father?"

Dean nearly jumped at the question, looked at her sharply. "Yeah, why?" _Was_ their father. But he didn't correct her.

"Because he's a good man." Though she didn't like going off of hearsay, she nodded curtly. "If John is your dad, then… I trust you."

Sam stared at her. Their father apparently knew a lot of people. "We'll keep in contact," he promised. "We'll call you if anything happens."

All of a sudden, Liz felt the same way she did when they had gone back for Aidan's car. So it would just be her and the brothers. And their plans seemed so resolute, so final. That was it? Rue reached for her wallet as she went to Liz's side.

"Here."

The woman pulled out two hundred dollars and gave it to the girl. "It won't get you much but it'll get you started." She didn't like the idea of leaving Liz, but that was the name of the game. Because they were standing by the table, she turned to it and quickly wrote her contact info down on the motel stationary.

"In case you need help or they get weird or something." She ripped the page off the pad and handed it to her with a smile, glancing at the brothers. "You can keep the clothes too. Good luck, Liz." Aidan smiled and then turned to the boys. "You better take care of her. If I find out you didn't, and I _will_, we'll be seeing each other again. Mm, kay?"

Dean snorted and tried not to smirk, though he did anyway. "Yeah, okay." He watched as the woman turned around and headed for the door.

Liz looked down at the money and paper. "Wait, where will you go?" Though she and Rue had a terrible start, Liz didn't want to be left alone with Sam and Dean. She hardly knew them.

Stopping at the door, Rue turned back. "I'm not sure yet, but something always comes up. Right now? The library."

"The library?" Dean asked, not too impressed with the answer.

"It's time to find another hunt. They don't just fall into your lap, you know. But I'll come if you call, Liz."

Liz frowned. "Bye, then." There was no way she could make her stay.

"Maybe we should give you a lift then at least," Sam offered. "You don't have your car anymore. How do you plan to get around anyway?"

Grinning light-heartedly, unaffected by having to leave them, Rue just gave him a nod of her head and stepped out the door. Sam looked a little dejected. They saw the look on Liz's face. Technically the Impala could fit one more…

But none of them went after Aidan. That was the last of her. It was just the three of them now.

**Please review if you like what you read!**


	4. Run Through the Jungle

Thought I heard a rumblin', callin' to my name  
Two hundred million guns are loaded, Satan cries, "Take aim"  
Better run through the jungle  
Better run through the jungle  
Better run through the jungle, don't look back to see

~CCR

* * *

"Are you sure you didn't want to get a hot dog? Or a sandwich? They had sandwiches."

Liz gave a half smile to Sam's concern and shook her head no. He was the sensitive of the two brothers—the caring one. Dean cared too, but he didn't show it. Although Dean was steadily growing on her. It was amusing to observe the two. For the past few days it had been just the three of them, and the prospect of road tripping and motel hopping, and living on shitty gas station and diner food didn't seem so bad any more. After all, she was safe now—no more hospitals.

"You have to eat something, Liz. You didn't eat much yesterday either."

Liz shrugged. "I'm fine. Really." Quite honestly, gas station food was worse than hospital food. But Sam was so earnest it was difficult to tell him that.

They approached the Impala, whose tank Dean was filling up. He leaned against his car and under his breath sang along to the radio station that played.

"_Good times, bad times, you know I had my share… When my woman left home for a brown eyed man, well, I still don't seem to care_."

Sam sighed. "In a few hours we can find an actual place to eat. Then just stop for the night again."

Not finding anything wrong with that, Dean nodded and took the nozzle out of the gas tank and replaced it on its hook.

Dean snagged an aluminum-covered hot dog out of the small bag Sam carried.

"Maybe find a Denny's or something," Dean added. He walked around the Impala's trunk to head to the driver's side. The thought of a big greasy burger had his stomach rumbling.

The other two got inside as well, and Liz reached over the front seat with a yellow candy package in her hand.

"Here, Dean."

Peanut M&Ms. He took the bag with his free hand to drop it on the seat between her legs. "Woman after my own heart," he said. Liz blushed. He never said that before. He took a nice bite of his hotdog, let out a satisfied sigh.

Sam offered Liz his own dog one last time. "You sure?"

"I'm sure." The girl settled against the door with a Twinkie. "Who knows what's in your hotdog."

Sam unraveled and stared at it for a moment.

"I actually try to be a healthy eater, but it's hard when you're on the road." He took bite, but didn't gobble like his brother.

"Oh shut it, Sammy, you know you like it," Dean said between bites. Before his brother could get upset, he turned the car on and shifted it into drive to pull away from the pump.

They got back onto the road, back in the same direction they were going. North—because unless the demon went to Texas or Mexico, they had no reason to go south. Dean turned his Led Zeppelin a little louder, Sam settled into silence, and Liz stared out her window at the dry, boring Oklahoma landscape beyond. Kansas was twenty miles ahead. The plan was to keep heading north until something crossed their path. The idea was ominous. Waiting for something to come to them. But for right now, Liz could adamantly say that she did not want to go searching for the demon. At least now as she waited she wasn't alone.

* * *

Boredom was starting to set in. Though it had been 4 days since Aidan Rue had last seen Liz and the Winchester boys, she couldn't seem to keep her thoughts from straying to them. It wasn't like she'd spent a huge amount of time with them, but the time she had, and what she had learned made them a sticky subject. She knew the boys would take care of Liz, or at least Sam would, but a part of her still worried about the girl.

Knowing none of it mattered now because she had left them, Rue bent back over her newspaper and took another bite of her perfectly toasted and lightly cream-cheesed everything bagel. She had just picked it up and headed back to her hotel room after gathering enough newspapers to look like your every day conspiracy theorist. The room was empty, as expected, but the nice thing about it was where she was sitting. Rather than get the normal dumpy room she could barely afford, she'd splurged and gotten not only a room with a view, but an awesome balcony, complete with small bistro set for her to sit. The Blue Star Hotel.

Reports of thievery here and there—even a kidnapping (but clearly done by a human). There were times when hunts were easy to spot, even the slightest abnormality in news articles and reports that Rue would grab straightaway. There were times she had simply gone off hunches, twitches in her gut that pointed to things she could pursue. Eighty percent of the time she was dead on it, too. Whether it was a ghost haunting or possession. Sometimes she was really lucky and got something big—shapeshifters, banshees. Not this time, though. This time Rue couldn't find a thing.

She sighed. It was one of _those_ periods again, when lulls occurred and most likely she'd be without a job for over a week. Maybe two. Rue flipped to the Job Search section of the newspaper and started scanning it. Maybe she could find a temporary job for now, get some money. She was running low, after all, after buying this fancy room.

"Maid Service?" she scoffed. "No."

The spectrum of jobs available was so wide there were even escorts. Rue wouldn't do that in a million years.

"Dishwasher? Egh, not again."

As she sat and searched, facing the open balcony and enjoying the breeze that drifted inside, the woman didn't notice the television, which was on mute. Oprah's face, and the face of her guest who sat beside her, began to distort. The whole screen rippled, in fact.

"Waitressing might be possible..." But then she'd have to deal with snotty people and that got old fast.

As she continued looking through the paper, the light in the bathroom suddenly turned out, and the one in the closet flickered briefly to life before once again returning to darkness.

"Bartending was the best temp job I ever had," she muttered before reaching for her can of coke and taking a swig.

"Funny," came a male voice from behind her. "I thought the same thing."

She whirled around, already reaching for the knife that was tucked in her back pocket.

The man frowned and shook his head. He was old, a staff of the hotel. "Now, what would you be needing that for?"

"What are you doing in my room?" Rue demanded. She flicked the blade open with an easy snap of her wrist.

The lights, which were off, turned on and then off again. On the television screen, Oprah dissolved into static. The middle-aged man, whoever he was, wore a janitor's uniform. And as he smiled and cocked his head and took a step towards the hunter, his brown eyes swirled with yellow.

Aidan's own gaze widened and she quickly stood to back away.

"Just stoppin' by, sayin' hi." The man glanced briefly through the balcony. "B-e-autiful day out, even I gotta admit."

"Demon..." she breathed, and knew there was little she could do. The only thing on her was her knife, and even that wouldn't even feel like a bee sting to him.

The man rolled his eyes. "Oh, we have a winner."

The moment she lifted her arm to throw at him, he jerked his head, and she found herself unable to move. Panic surged through her, but she couldn't lift her feet off the ground.

"Maybe we should leave the weapons to the adults, huh?" he asked as he plucked the blade from her frozen fingers and released her. He didn't even watch as she stumbled slightly. He threw the knife at the wall. It stuck and quivered with a little whistle.

Aidan moved away from him, unable to escape to the balcony, let alone to the door. The demon blocked the way to the former, fixed the woman with a stern look.

"I heard ya found my little fire cracker. But ya missed the fire works! Should've seen it. It was…" The man trailed off with a hiss, his yellow eyes drifting a moment. "Magnificent!"

Aidan filled with abhorrence.

The demon grinned. "You like roasting marshmallows?"

He was deranged. No creature should find such pleasure out of something so hateful, but he did.

"It was _you_!"

He was the one the Winchesters were after. Her eyes darted over to where her phone rested on the bedside table. But before she could even so much as breathe in its direction, she was suddenly flung back against the wall with enough force to rattle the lamps in the room. The air was forced from her lungs in a gasp as he released her, let her fall to her knees.

He strolled around the single bed to see her and said, "Oh Aidan. It's almost disappointing how easy this is."

The girl gasped. She was about to climb to her knees, when his hand was suddenly at her throat. Without so much as a flinch, he lifted her clear off the floor. Desperately, her hands clawed at his, trying to pry them away. She stared into his swirling golden eyes, swore she saw evil incarnate in the depths. His sulfuric breath made her stomach shrivel, made her own eyes water. She tried to form words. Nothing came out of her mouth.

"Yes, now I see the fight in you. Give into it, Aidan. Now ya know why the Hardy Brothers are scared shitless of me. Now ya know why they want me so bad," he chuckled. "But they got one thing wrong." The demon's fingers shifted around her neck, tightened a smidge. She choked. The demon lifted a finger of his free hand.

"One thing they got wrong, cupcake, is that the harder they try to look for me, the harder it's gonna be to find me. They've been lookin' for twenty-two years and what's it gotten 'em?" He waited for an answer. Obviously Aidan couldn't give one. "I killed their daddy. I killed their mommy. Piss me off, and your mommy and daddy are next. Oh wait, they're six feet under too. What were their names? Sean? Kelsy?" The demon laughed as a tortured look came over her face.

Her foot shot out and caught him square in the groin. He didn't so much as flinch. Instead, he laughed once more.

"You'll have to do better than that, sweetheart," he said with a grin. Then he threw her across the room into the wall above the nightstand. She hit it with a loud thump. Fell down onto the small desk, destroyed lamp and leftovers from that morning's breakfast. Collapsed to the floor.

Yellow Eyes just smirked and stepped towards her.

Dizzy, disoriented, and barely able to see, Rue looked up at the demon and knew she was done for. Her eyes filled with fear. She shook inside and out. A single word blubbered from her lips:

"P-please."

"So ya do have manners. Alright, I'll help ya up."

Up is where she went. Up the wall, that is. Sliding towards the ceiling. A familiar scene if the Winchesters were there. Although in a way one of them was.

Aidan and the demon and the entire room flickered—just like a television set—and began to fade. Replaced by a plate of food on a table. A toppled burger among spilled fries. The glass of coke that almost spilled too.

Sam held his temples and cringed so badly that he nearly squished Liz into the window that lined their booth. She backed away as far she could, watching with Dean as Sam cried out to the whole diner. His eyes watered, his head pulsated. The last remnants of the vision blurred into the table and all he could see was Rue's face. Her dying face. And then a rush of fire over, so brilliantly yellow, he thought he felt its heat. She couldn't scream.

Dean looked around the diner. "Shit," he swore. "Sammy, breathe." He moved his brother's glass of coke away from the danger zone. "Easy, Sam. What did you see?"

By now, most of the people were watching them, though some were inconspicuously doing it.

"Here, just take some of your pills," Dean added a little more loudly. "We'll go see the Doc in a few minutes."

Liz stared at them both like they were the crazy ones. "What's wrong with him?"

Sam breathed deeply in and out, wiping his eyes. He grasped the edge of the table and said, "Aidan. I saw Aidan. And—and the demon."

"Saw?" Liz repeated.

Within minutes, the bill had been paid and the three were speeding across the parking lot to the waiting Impala. Sam squinted from both the sun and his headache.

Dean fished his keys out of his pocket. "You mean he's with her? The demon? As in _the_ Yellow-Eyed demon? What would he want with her?"

"I don't know," Sam answered. "He didn't say, but he threw her again the wall—and then-then she started sliding towards the ceiling."

No sooner had Liz gotten inside the car, than Dean stepped on the gas. The girl flew across the back seat.

"Shit! Will you tell me what's going on? Is this my demon?"

"_Our _demon. This is Yellow Eyes. Dean, I think I know what hotel she was in. There was—there was a star…a star on the sign." He remembered the sign he saw through the balcony of the hotel room. "Blue Star Hotel. Didn't we pass it half an hour back?" Sam spun in his seat to look at the highway signs, still squinting.

"We might have," the older brother grumbled. He made a drifting U-turn amongst much honking. "You're the one that remembers stuff like that." Once he had righted the car, they sped off down the road.

"Blue Star, Blue Star... Liz, you're gonna stay in the car when we go in, and keep your head down."

Liz didn't protest. The demon—they were about to confront him and she wanted nowhere near him. She would gladly stay in the car. But maybe the car wouldn't protect her and he'd find her there anyway.

Sure enough, Sam was right. The hotel that they'd been looking for loomed up to their right about thirty-five minutes later. They thought it might've been too late, but the hotel wasn't burning. It stood, blue and white and completely normal. Almost too normal.

"Damn, a little ritzy, isn't she?" Dean muttered. Though in reality the hotel was about as nice as a Red Roof.

In unison, the brothers leapt out of the car. Sam stopped Liz just in time—she made to go after them, rather out of the car because she didn't think she'd be safe in it.

She gazed at the harmless blue building, eyes wide. "The demon's inside there right now?"

"With Aidan, and we're gonna get her. This might be our chance. You have to stay here, Liz, for your own sake."

"I just want to—" Liz wanted to hide somewhere else. But the brothers were already leaving. She shut the door and locked the car, anxiety growing in her stomach.

Sam checked his gun and looked at his brother. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Dean replied. He pocketed his gun and started for the double door entrance.

Maybe, just maybe they'd finally get the demonic Sonofabitch. Once and for all.

"Which room, Sam?" he asked.

It didn't matter. They heard a loud thump above them. The Winchesters braced themselves. They passed the slumped front desk clerk, whose head lulled to the side at a strange angle. He was dead as a doornail. A maid was on the floor.

"The sonofabitch took them all out."

The lights flickered in the hall, which caught the boys' attention and allowed them to spot the doors to the stairwell. They rushed to the second floor and there they slowed their pace with guns at the ready. Sam led. He looked down right and down left. Oddly enough, only the lights to the right were blinking. The man nodded to his brother and both stealthy hurried, following the noise.

The nightstand broke as Aidan fell onto it. And then the demon raised a dry, wrinkled finger and, as if he was a proud puppeteer, began lifting the woman towards the ceiling. She wept and all the while watched the evil smirk on his face. His amusement was sickening. She had never been so close to death. She was an ant compared to him.

As she came to a stop in the center of the room, stuck to the ceiling like a fly caught on tape, Aidan took what she thought to be her last gasp of a breath. The pressure on her body to keep her up there was just too much. Just as the Yellow-Eyed Demon lifted a finger to slice her stomach, the door to the room slammed open. Plaster showered as the knob struck a hole in the wall behind it.

"Lucy, I'm home," Dean yelled at the demon.

Slowly, the older-looking man turned to face them. He looked both boys up and down. But before either could say another word, the demon smiled and was gone, mouth snapping back. Black smoke billowed out the balcony. The body of the vessel slumped to the floor.

Rue came crashing down from the ceiling, hit the bed, which broke her fall, before bouncing to the floor on the far side of the bed.

"Dammit!" Dean yelled.

Sam stared at the fluttering curtains, pale-faced. Then he ran to Aidan to see if she was alive.

"Aidan?"

She moaned painfully. He let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. Her stomach wasn't bleeding.

"Aidan, you're okay. You're okay. I got you." The man helped her off her face. He cradled her in his arms, looked at Dean, who shared his expression.

They fucked up again.

Meanwhile, Liz stared at the hotel from her window, hand on the door handle. As she saw the black smoke come around the corner of the second floor, she had never felt such fear while being awake. She opened her door and rushed out, nearly tripping. The smoke, which no one else seemed to see, made another curve—curve downwards toward the parking lot. Liz ran, not towards the building but across the lot and toward the street—not intentionally, but anywhere her legs and remaining wit would carry her. She ran for her life.

**Please review if you liked what you've read!**


	5. Communication Breakdown

Communication Breakdown, It's always the same,  
I'm having a nervous breakdown, Drive me insane!

~Led Zeppelin

* * *

Meanwhile, Liz stared at the hotel from her window, hand on the door handle. As she saw the black smoke come around the corner of the second floor, she had never felt such fear while being awake. She opened her door and rushed out, nearly tripping. The smoke, which no one else seemed to see, made another curve—curve downwards toward the parking lot. Liz ran, not towards the building but across the lot and toward the street—not intentionally, but anywhere her legs and remaining wit would carry her. She ran for her life. She thought she heard the smoke's roaring. Tears streamed down her face and she didn't dare to look back, terrified that if she did, it would get her—the demon. She couldn't bare thinking that all three back in the hotel were dead.

Liz ran onto the plaza next to the hotel, past its liquor store, past its Arabic restaurant and lingerie store, past several people who stared at her like she was crazy. Then onto the sidewalk, and then onto the street. She barely saw a car as it zoomed past. She stopped before it hit her, the angry driver hurting her ears with a loud, vicious honk. When she looked back, the smoke was nowhere. She looked around—absolutely no sight. Panting, sweaty, and red faced, she didn't know if she imagined it, or if it had just disappeared.

"FUCKING IDIOT!"

Another car had her running backwards back onto the sidewalk.

"Get off the street!"

* * *

Aidan could feel herself being pulled into someone's arms, but the air still hadn't quite returned to her lungs. Sam stood up, holding her carefully.

"Demon..." she managed to get out before coughing. The air rushed back into her.

Dean ran to the window and looked out, hopping over the unconscious janitor in the process. "Shit, can't see the car from here. Sam, get her the hell out of here. I'm going to check on Liz."

Sam nodded and said: "Meet you outside. Be careful." As Dean hurried out, Sam looked around—fortunately Aidan's things weren't spread around. He found her lone duffle on the table.

When Dean got outside...he didn't see Liz. One of the back passenger doors of the Impala was open wide. There wasn't a shred of evidence to tell him where she went—or was taken. And the parking lot was void of people.

"Stay in the car, he says," he grumbled as he stopped beside the car, frantically looking in all directions. He'd just come from the hotel, so she hadn't gone that way, which left the street.

A blaring horn caught his attention. Swearing, the man took off towards the street.

The sidewalk ahead of him—people went this way and that. Among them was a girl with black hair, frozen with lingering fear. A few people bumped into her, telling her to watch where she was looking. She went past a baby stroller just before the mother ran into her, yelping in alarm for her child.

Getting to the corner of the liquor store, Liz looked back at the hotel, not seeing Dean's approaching form. She wanted to see if they were still alive… But the demon! The sky was clear, so were the trees. Yet Liz couldn't go back. She couldn't do it. She started through the plaza, away from the hotel, avoiding the people on the sidewalk, yet wanting to keep them in sight because she felt safer that way. Nothing could happen in public right? All the while, she looked over her shoulder.

Dean thought he caught a glimpse of her before she disappeared.

"Li-" the Winchester tried to call out to her, but then cut himself off. She'd already disappeared into the people and calling out to her would only draw unwanted attention. As best he could, Dean followed her up the street.

It was as he turned a corner on an intersection, getting to the third block away from the hotel that he stopped short before bumping into a woman, but she didn't see him right away and collided into him hard—Liz. She had turned back, having ventured far enough. People looked at her panicking face.

"Dean!" Seeing him washed her with relief. "Oh God—I saw him!"

His hands had closed around her upper arms to keep her from falling back, but instead of releasing her, he shifted his grip so that he had one hand on her bicep.

"I know, we found Rue and he split. Come on, we're getting the hell outta Dodge."

The two started their way back to the hotel down the street. Liz looked over her shoulder, paranoid. All good. She was safe with Dean. She was so relieved that he and the others were alive.

"I saw black smoke—it came right at me. So I ran. Is that how he looks like? Black smoke? I thought there was another fire."

"I've never seen a fire with smoke like that," he replied distractedly as he worked them back down the sidewalk. He saw Sam standing anxiously beside the Impala when they turned around the corner of a building and stepped into the parking lot. Though he couldn't see Rue, he knew she had to have been there, perhaps already in the car.

"Get in!" he called, only letting go of Liz's arm when they neared the car.

Liz hurried into her seat and saw Aidan half-awake beside her, slumped against her door. "Oh God, is she okay?"

"She will be. We got here just in time," Sam said as he got inside. "Where were you?"

"I… The demon came after me," she answered. "I was sitting in the car, and then I saw the smoke."

They peeled out of the lot, tires screeching, and Dean stepped on the gas as he turned into the street. Sam turned in his seat to face Aidan and Liz. He worriedly stared at the former.

As though feeling his eyes on her, Aidan lifted a hand her head and rubbed at her eyes. "I'm fine," she moaned, before slowly opening one eye to look at them.

"Thank God for crappy mattresses, or you might not be," Dean all but griped back. His mood certainly didn't improve since getting in the car…

* * *

Liz and Aidan watched across the dark neighborhood street at the abandoned house the Winchesters had broken into. They had told the women to stay in the car. Neither protested—even Aidan, who was still hurting from earlier. It took about twenty minutes before Aidan received a text from Dean:

_All clear. Sam's coming to get the gear._

They saw Sam step out of the house's front door, look around cautiously, and then start trotting across the street towards them. It was one of those neighborhoods that were filled with more trees than usual, and the plots of land were bigger, so the houses were further apart and no one saw them.

Sam approached Aidan's window and briefly peered inside at them. Then he went back to the trunk and popped it open.

Aidan opened her door and stepped out, grabbing a couple pieces of trash that she'd created through out the day. "Here," she offered, holding out her hand for her bag.

Sam hesitated but gave her duffle to her. "How are you doing?" he asked with a small smile. His bangs were a little messy across his forehead.

Liz crossed her arms, coming out to stand beside them, and looked around the place, the houses that were sleeping, porch lights on. It was entirely too still.

Aidan gave Sam a quick, small grin and opened her mouth to speak but Liz beat her to it.

"How do we know he won't come after us again?"

"We really don't, but there are things we can do to try and keep him away," Aidan said.

"Like what?"

Sam heaved his bag and Dean's over his shoulder and shut the trunk. He made sure the car was locked and looked around, then started back across the street. The women followed.

"For starters, salting all the doors and windows. Dean's already doing that," he said. "Demons can't pass through salt—neither can ghosts."

"Ghosts?" Liz repeated. Now Ghosts didn't seem real. Sam looked at Aidan and smirked at her.

"Don't worry," the brunette answered. "Just know, that once Dean finishes, you'll be as safe as you can be."

When they got inside the house, the two hunters made sure to step carefully over the thick salt streak that lined bottom of the door, and Liz followed suit. The entire place was old—abandoned for years, with wallpaper peeling, the floors creaking, covered in dust and rat shit. No electricity, and no air, it felt. The brothers had opened the windows and the gross smell was starting to dilute. Down the end of the hall in the living room, they saw Dean, who was almost done sealing off the first floor with the salt. There were a couple pieces of furniture—old gray couches you could fall through, a shitty coffee table. And a dirty mattress leaning against the wall on the other side of the room. The kitchen was empty but had open cans and boxes of fast food—months old. This was the kind of place the homeless and even drug addicts crashed. Tonight, it was their turn. Liz tried not to touch anything.

She noticed a syringe in a dark corner. Sam dropped the bags he carried on the floor next to the coffee table.

"Is it safe?" Liz asked. But this time she meant safe against homeless and crack addicts—they thought against the supernatural.

"Safe? Of course." Dean grinned and patted the corner one of the old cabinets. One of the doors promptly fell off, and though he'd tried to catch it, he'd been too slow and it crashed onto the counter before sliding to the floor.

"Well, from demons anyway," he added with a sheepish smirk.

Liz looked around, unconvinced.

"We got a couple of sleeping bags if you two want to have them," Sam told the women. "Dean and I can figure something out. Dean, you want that mattress over there?" The mattress looked absolutely disgusting, and the couch looked a bit less. "You said dibs on the bed in the next place."

"On the next bed," Dean repeated. "Which is whatever I choose to sleep on. Soooo, you've got the mattress. Better get the tarp from the trunk, Sasquatch, or you might get some stowaways to share in your beauty sleep."

"Yeah. Right," Sam said sarcastically. He wasn't taking the mattress.

Aidan eyed the floor and chose a far corner of the room that was littered with old fast food wrappers. Methodically, she grabbed a folded newspaper and began brushing away a good four by eight spot to reveal stained laminate flooring beneath, but at least it was free of debris.

"It's very gentlemanly of you guys to take one for the team and save the floor for us." Though her words were joking, she actually was glad. There was no way she'd even touch the couch or mattress, let alone sleep on one of them.

Sam took one of the sleeping bags and went to hand it to her.

"We need to lay low for a few days. Then we'll go back to motels. Maybe once we hit Nevada?" He said this part as he looked at Dean. "And we should probably stick together for a while." Sam turned back to Aidan.

The situation had become far more serious.

"The demon came after you and we don't know why." Sam's voice softened slightly. "We can risk having you on your own again."

"While I appreciate the concern," Aidan started as she set her duffle down against the wall and then fanned the sleeping bag out as well. "I will decide what I have to do." Her words were serious, but her voice was gentle. She really did appreciate the concern, but she was her own mistress. After situating the bag, the woman stood back up and looked at Sam with a small smile.

Dean raised an eyebrow as he listened, attempting to find fault with her logic.

"That being said, I'd really love to know what you do."

"The fact that a demon attacked you in your hotel room isn't enough?" Dean said.

"Should it be?" Aidan replied, switching her gaze to him. "I know nothing about you, short of who your father is. For all I know the demon was warning me away from you two."

Liz stood silent among them, worry on her face.

Sam scoffed—a reaction he didn't mean. He just wasn't expecting Aidan's reaction. "Warning you? No, I'm pretty sure if the demon wanted nothing to do with you, he'd stay away from you."

Dean shook his head, shocked Aidan would even say such a thing. "This demon doesn't warn people, lady. He rips them apart, or mows them down like mosquitoes on a semi's windshield, okay? There is no warning."

But from Aidan's perspective, it was perfectly logical.

"And other than the little you've told me, I'm supposed to know that how?" Though she'd wanted to rise to Dean's tone, she'd managed to keep hers even. "You three are the ones that know this demon. I don't. All I know is that one day I'm doing my job, trying to figure out what's happening in a string of arson cases, and the next I'm pinned to the ceiling by some yellow eyed devil."

"Demon, actually," Dean corrected.

Sam took a couple of steps to Aidan, raising his hands to gesture with. He spoke urgently.

"Look, you can't go. Trust me when I say this—if you leave us again, he'll probably come after you, and I don't know if we'd make it on time the second round." He wondered if she would question _how_ they made it in the first place, but Sam wasn't about to explain that bit. "He—he probably wants nothing to do with you, but now that you've come across us, it's his way of screwing with me and Dean—and because you got involved with Liz."

As he gestured to Liz, she took a step back.

"Is this my fault now?" she asked.

"No," Dean replied. "It's his, but that yellow eyed bastard will twist everything to make you think it's your fault."

Aidan's brows drawn together.

"So tell me what you know. Tell me, why it is I shouldn't try to get as far away from you as possible? If he's willing to kill me just from meeting you, it seems like the best idea would be to go as far as I can."

Sam's face turned grave. "Because it's too late now. We can't predict what he'll do next. And if something happens to you…" He paused, considering his words. He knew how dramatic he sounded. "If something happens to you—it'll be our fault."

"Hey, you don't want to stay? That's fine. The doors right there, we won't stop you, but it'll be the last stupid mistake you make," Dean told her, a little harshly. But it was the truth. "We're telling you what he'll do. Jesus, you've seen what he can do. If that's not enough of a reason, then nothing we say will change your mind."

Aidan was seriously weighing their words as she went to one of the plastic bags on the counter and pulled out four beers, two bottles in each hand. She went to Dean first and offered him one with a smile.

"Okay, then tell me why this demon wants you." She went to Sam next and offered him one, before handing the third to Liz and unscrewing the top from her own. "If he's as horrible as you say, which I'm not doubting and fully believe—why? Why is he wasting so much time chasing after some…mosquitoes?" She sat down on the arm of the couch, propping her feet up on the cushion.

Sam shrugged, his face full of foreboding.

"We don't know. We have no idea—but it's—it's something big." He didn't take a drink, not yet. As he glanced away, he thought about what the demon said about his Children, all kids just like Sam. That was part of the plan. But Sam didn't say a word about it. It wasn't that he was afraid to tell Aidan—it just scared Sam when he thought about it.

"Why did he kill your mother?" Liz asked. She took a large swig of her beer, realizing how much she needed it.

"What?" Dean asked quickly, looking at her. "What are you talking about?"

"The demon. Didn't he kill you mother?"

Dean pursed his lips briefly before biting the inside of his cheek.

"Uh, yeah. He did." It clearly wasn't something he wanted to talk about. "I'm uh… I'm gonna go check the salt and the traps… Yeah." Without giving them a chance to protest, he walked out of the room, swigging his beer as he went.

"Sorry if it's hard," Aidan said as she watched him go.

Sam shook his head, finally opening his beer. "It's okay," he said softly. "And, Liz, we don't know. We don't know a lot at all."

Liz nodded, silent. She looked back the way Dean went, and silence weaved into the room. "I'll be back," she then said after a moment. "Need the ladies' room."

Sam and Aidan watched her go too. As Liz went, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She didn't go after Dean, however, but went to the door.

Once Liz was out of sight and earshot, Aidan spoke as gently as she could.

"You understand where I'm coming from, right? I'm really just trying to make the best choice I can for me, and the only way to do that is with _all_ the information, not just what I think I know."

"I know." Sam went to sit on the coffee table. He lowered himself slowly. It gave a creak but didn't give in. "And we're not trying to hide anything. We just don't know much. But he killed our mom…and he was-" Sam cleared his throat, cradling his beer, not meeting her eyes. "Involved with our dad's death. Dean's messed up from that too. It was recent."

She cradled the bottle between her hands, looking down into the dark liquid as if weighing her words carefully.

"I'm not used to this, Sam," she admitted, still not looking up at him. "I mean, I appreciate what you did for me today, but… I work alone. Not because I'm one of those crazy lone wolf characters, but… loyalties complicate things."

He nodded slowly and looked at her. "I know. We're not used to this either. It's just me and my brother. But…" he sighed. "We should do this so nothing happens to any of us."

Aidan chewed on her lower lip. "Maybe it would be okay for a few days," she finally agreed. "At least until we figure out what we're going to do next. If you're okay with that? I can't promise any more than that right now."

Sam gave her a small smile, relieved. "Yeah, at least that."

* * *

Though the window was shattered, the salt line along the sill was thick and unbroken. Dean leaned up against the wall beside it, drinking his beer and looking out through it. He wasn't brooding, he told himself, but getting a little peace and quiet was nice. At least it was until it was broken. Movement outside the window caught his eye.

"What the…" Seeing the smoke curl up from the figure had him slamming his beer down.

He went to the door and whipped it open to confront Liz when he saw her.

"Are you frickin' kidding me? What the hell are you doing out here?"

She jumped and backed away a step. His apparent anger had her dropping her cigarette on accident and then quickly picking it up.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't planning on leaving. I needed a cigarette."

"Would you," he started, but stopped himself and gestured back through the doorway. "Would you get back in here please?" His eyes were wide. He couldn't believe she'd just walk outside like it was nothing, like there wasn't a demon after them.

Liz quickly started snuffing out the cigarette on the ground, feeling like a child who had been scolded. She needed a few seconds to make sure the cigarette was out. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Then she stood and looked around, wonder where to throw it. She just threw it back between the bushes that lined the house. "I didn't feel well—I-" she started as she started back to the door. "I needed to calm down."

Naturally, Dean felt like an ass.

"Hey, it's okay. Just, outside, is no good, okay?" he quickly closed the door and straightened the salt line. "We told you before you would be safe inside. That doesn't include outside." The man cleared his throat and glanced at her with an uncomfortable smile. Comforting wasn't something he was the best at. That was Sam's job.

"But uh, hey if you want some fresh air, you can get a little bit through that window. I mean, it kind of smells like something died right beneath it though, so make sure you breath through your mouth. Actually, you know what, just look out the window. Don't really take any deep breaths."

Laughing slightly, Liz went to the window Dean had been perched beside, a little ways off the hallway, and took out her cigarettes again. She leaned out the window past his beer bottle that stood on the windowsill and lit another cigarette. She took a puff and slowly let it out.

"I'm sorry. They didn't let us smoke in the hospital. And now I'm off my meds and…" She didn't look at him. "I'm—well it's a bad substitute."

"So you went to smoking?" Dean asked with a grimace. He watched the smoke curl out through the cracks of the broken glass. "Couldn't you just… I don't know, eat a bunch of suckers or something?"

"It doesn't work like that. But don't most people smoke?" Liz held out her carton to him.

Dean held up a hand to wave away her offer. "Uh, yeah, no thanks, I'm good."

"Don't worry, I won't make it explode like that guy in X-men. I guess it only works when I'm asleep."

Dean smirked and glanced back towards the other room. "So, how you feeling about all this? Traveling around, I mean?"

Liz looked back at the window, her cheeks sucking in during a breath.

"I feel safer—but I don't know where else I could go. And…I don't think you guys could do anything to keep him from coming after me. I feel like he could any night, and all of you would be toast. I think I would just kill myself if it happened again."

She reached for his beer bottle and took an accidental sip. "Oh, this is yours. I'm sorry."

Dean waved away her concern with a shrug.

"There's more on the counter. Here's the thing, he could kill any of us at any moment." It was the truth. "But it'll be a little tougher to do it." _Barely. _"If we're together."

Facing him, Liz lowered her eyes between them, thinking while her cigarette burned, an orange dot in the darkness of the first floor around them. She didn't know what to say. She just decided to trust him—and risk it. But she didn't know how she'd sleep tonight. She didn't know how she'd sleep again ever.

When she finally looked at him again, she quietly said, "I'm sorry for upsetting you earlier."

Confusion crossed his face. "When?"

"When I asked about your mom."

He shrugged away her concern and shoved his hands in the pockets of his brown leather jacket.

"Don't worry about it. You didn't bother me," he said. He pulled his gaze away from the window and looked at her with an almost leering smirk. "Better go check on the other two. Last thing I want to see is walking in there to find them bumping uglies."

Dean turned and left her then to her cigarettes and thoughts, having preferred to escape his demons rather than face them.

Smirking, Liz snuffed her smoke and joined him a few moments later. Sam was off the coffee table, but his beer remained, and instead he dug through his bag for something.

"Hey where were you two?" he asked. "Aidan agreed to stay with us for a few days. At least until we know we can get out of hiding."

Though Dean sighed, he nodded. "Good, that'll give us time to...get to know each other?" He winked at Aidan, who promptly rolled her eyes and took a drink from her beer.

Sam gave his brother a look. The younger Winchester already had a sort of friendship forming between him and Aidan. "Don't make it weird, man," he said.

Liz went over to the spare sleeping bag that was already spread near Aidan. She took a drink from the beer she'd taken from Dean and then put the bottle down beside her on the floor. Taking off her new jean jacket, Liz remained in a V-neck T-shirt and rubbed a shiver that went down her clavicle and through her arms.

"So…"

Dean looked at his Liz before turning a grin on his brother. "More beer anyone?"

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Breckinridge, CO**

"Right there, take the drive on the right," Aidan indicated as she leaned over the front seat so she could point it out.

Dean saw the weathered red mailbox and turned onto the drive, listening as the Impala's tires rolled over the pebble covered ground.

"My baby's gonna love this…" he murmured as he heard a rock kick up and hit the under carriage.

"Sorry, it's easier with the weather up here. The pavement and concrete crack too easily," Aidan replied with a shrug.

The driveway was long and winding. From the street, aside from the mail box, it looked more like a back country road, and with how high up in the mountains they were, there was no telling where it led. When the house finally came into view, it was nothing awe inspiring, but comforting in its quaintness—a wooden mountain house with an encompassing front and back deck, surrounded by forest. The house was by no means large and was in need of some care, yet the forest green shutters and oak walls seemed to welcome you home. To the left of the house was a separate garage, not attached to the home, and was dark chocolate in color. The front bushes were overgrown, and due to the trees that packed around the property, downed limbs were everywhere, however, it was still passable.

Sam smiled—the idea of not staying in a shitty abandoned house, or a shitty motel, but someone's home was nice.

"Is it your family's?" he asked Aidan.

"Was," Aidan replied, keeping her eyes on the house. "Now it's mine."

When Dean parked, she climbed out of the back and waited for the trunk to be popped so she could get to her bag. She kept the house keys there and, since she rarely if ever visited, they were way down at the bottom. They were still there—she felt them with her hand, a set of several keys.

"Home sweet home," she muttered, and went to the front door. The others grabs their own bags and followed her.

"Might have to battle some dust bunnies and cob webs here. Don't worry, Sammy, I'm sure you're just too sweet for them to bother you." Dean chuckled.

Sam just shook his head. As Aidan opened the door, a slightly musty air breezed out—it was the house being locked away for too long. But the electricity still worked as she turned on the light. The place, with its cozy, worn leather couches and family portraits, emanated a warmth from the past. Yet Aidan seemed rueful being back. To the left was the living room. To the right the kitchen, and stairs that led up to a loft with doors to bedrooms.

Aidan walked straight to the stairs and dumped her bag on the lowest step.

"Make yourselves at home," she said. "Everything should work. There's an older couple that look after it for me, and stock it every couple of months or so."

Dean dropped his own bag on one of the couches and looked around at the decorations.

"Definitely country," he observed with a grin.

He noted some other strange things as well. So as not to draw Rue's attention, he slowly went to the one of the front windows and noticed a strange shallow trough that went from edge to edge and was covered in Plexiglas. Underneath was some sort of white grain—like salt or sugar. The door had the same thing.

"Sammy," he hissed and gestured to it.

Sam stepped over to him while Aidan wasn't looking, saw what he was pointing at. Salt lines for protection. Liz didn't pay attention to what the brothers were looking at and stepped over to Aidan, looking up at the loft and high ceiling.

"It's nice," she said with a small smile.

"Oh thanks," Aidan replied. She had a distracted grin as she went to the wall and turned a knob. A rumble started through the house, followed by a couple groans, but then warm air started to filter out of the vents. "We can always start a fire too. Anyone hungry? I can make some pasta?"

She didn't bother to wait for there answer, and headed to the kitchen, which was to their left.

"Who does this?" Dean whispered to his brother, still referring to the troughs full of salt.

"Hunter families," Sam whispered, and smiled wider. As he turned around, he followed Aidan and slowed down at the doorway of the kitchen. "You want some help?" he offered.

Though she should have been ready, Sam's sudden presence spooked her, making her drop the pot she had onto the counter.

"Shit, sorry," she mumbled. She moved the pot to the sink to rinse it and fill with water.

Sam saw the change in her, suspected it had something to do with returning back to her house. Neither he nor Dean inquired about where her parents were, but Sam figured they might've been dead. And he didn't ask.

"No, I'm sorry. Do you want help?" he asked. "If you're gonna cook for Dean too, you're gonna need a hand."

She turned around to face him and nodded with a smile.

"That would be nice," she said. "Thank you. Unfortunately, we don't have anything fresh here." To prove her point, she dragged her fingertip across the counter top and lifted it to see it covered in dust. "But, we do have pasta, spices, and some sauce. Think that will work?"

"Yeah! Definitely. Well, I won't complain. Beats gas station food, right?" Sam said. He went to what looked like a pull out drawer, a tall one. "Is this where the stuff might be?"

"Spices are in there. Pasta and sauce are right…" Aidan went to a cupboard beside the stove and pulled out a big box of pasta and a jar of sauce. "Here. You know, there might be some frozen meat in the freezer that we could put in the sauce?" she offered. "The lady replaces it whenever she stops by to check things out."

There was something comforting in being in the kitchen with him. It seemed so normal.

"That's nice of her," Sam said. He went to the freezer and she was right—a frozen Styrofoam tray of ground beef. He then joined her at the counter, going to the sink, and gave her a smile. Picking up the metal mixing bowl that was nearby, he took it to fill with water and defrost the meat.

In comfortable silence, they began cooking.

Meanwhile, the awkward silence between Liz and Dean was getting too much, so as Dean was looking at the family pictures on the fire place mantel to get a better idea of Rue's family, Liz slipped outside. She took several steps across the porch and away from the door, and pulled out her cigarettes to light one.

The autumn stillness of Rue's property was beautiful—even it being a bit overgrown made it beautiful. The sun shone through the clouds. There was a chill in the air, but it wasn't too cold. The tree leaves were yellowing and reddening, and there seemed like there was no one around for miles. From the hill the house stood on, Liz saw as far as the eye could see.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" she heard Dean's voice. He had opened the door and leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms over his chest. "Somethin' about the clean air."

He took a long breath in through his nose and let it out through his mouth. He knew what she was doing, and though he couldn't altogether blame her, it didn't mean he'd let her suffer alone with her misery.

Liz nodded, side glancing at him. She then walked over to the railing of the porch deck and leaned her elbows onto it, looking at the nature.

"I'm glad we didn't go to Vegas instead," she said.

He followed her to the railing and the let the door shut behind him.

"Can't blame a guy for tryin', can you? All those lights and sounds…like an escape from reality." A thought that was very appealing. "Come on, I know that the idea of an escape sounds pretty nice to you."

"Sam said you two didn't have money to gamble?" Liz said.

"At the moment we might not have," he agreed with a small tilt of his head. "But it's the Vegas! Money's everywhere, you just gotta find it." Dean looked over at her and smiled, his train of thinking breaking off. "How are you doin'? I mean really? Probably never imagined yourself driving around the country with a couple of guys, did ya?"

"No," she said softly. She paused to take in a puff and then slowly let it out. "And you didn't expect to be with Aidan and me. We're probably cramping your style."

"Nah, I just go with flow." He smiled and looked out over the hills. "Takes more than that to cramp my style."

He did go with the flow.

Liz sighed and leaned off the railing, turning away from him. She walked slowly to the other side of the porch—it stretched all along the entire front of the house. She peered into the forest that began to envelope the right side of the house.

Were they really safe there? What else could there be out there?

Even with her back turned, Dean could tell something came over. Through the window into the kitchen, Sam and Aidan chatted lightheartedly every now and then and cooked. Sam was frying the ground beef, and Aidan was working on the pasta sauce.

"Ever had a s'more?" Dean asked randomly, but he stayed where he was. "You know, the little graham cracker things and marshmallows and chocolate?" It was one of the few things he and his brother had gotten to do when they were kids, even though it wasn't that often.

Liz turned around. "Yeah, what about it?" she said. She snuffed her cigarette and lit another one.

Dean shrugged. "Well, I was gonna say maybe while we're up here we should make some, but then with how much you're lighting up, I'm not sure you'd have any taste buds left."

"It doesn't do anything to me, Dean," she said. She had been able to survive fires, after all. "And if it bothers you…you don't have to stand out here with me."

"Okay," he answered and headed back to the front door. "Dinner will be ready soon."

Liz watched him go, and decided that she couldn't figure him out, as he probably couldn't figure out her.

About fifteen minutes later, dinner was in fact ready. She joined them in the kitchen at the table where Sam and Aidan set up dishes and silverware. The pasta smelled delicious. Dean was already eating it, unable to wait for the others. Liz took a seat across from him and watched as Sam and Aidan sat.

"Dude, you're inhaling it," Sam said to his brother.

Dean leaned back in his chair, eyes closed and chewed as though he were eating heaven. "Can 'ou 'ame me?" he asked his brother around a mouthful of food. Aidan smiled and took her own bite of food.

Sam shook his head, smirking, didn't gobble his own food. "So, do you need to go into town for anything?" he asked Aidan.

The woman nodded upon a swallow.

"We need to head into town and stock up on every day things. To be honest I wouldn't mind stripping all the beds and taking them to the Laundromat. They'd be full of dust now and it would be faster than using the washer here."

Dean sucked a spaghetti noodle through his lips into his mouth. "Sounds good. Should probably see what we can find ammunition wise too. Don't want to get caught running low."

Sam looked out the window at the setting sun. "Do you want to do some errands today before it gets dark?"

Liz ate in silence, listening to them.

Aidan looked to the windows and saw that Sam was right. It would take them a good thirty or so to get there.

"Yeah, we could go tonight. Dean, do you mind checking on the generator? It's probably fine. I just want to make sure it's ready to go if we need."

The man lifted his butter knife and gave a mock salute. "I'm on it."

"Want me to help you take down the sheets?" Liz offered.

"If you want, that would be great," Aidan said.

Because it would be dark soon, after dinner, Liz helped Aidan with the sheets and Sam loaded them into the car, a huge sheet wrapped pile. Sam got Dean's keys to drive. Liz got into the backseat with the laundry, Aidan sat beside Sam, and Dean remained on the porch watching as they drove off.

"Will he be okay by himself?" Aidan asked after a couple minutes of silence. Dean didn't really seem like stay at home kind of guy.

Sam turned on the headlights and they lit up the gravel driveway before them. He drew his brows together, thinking about his brother. Although Dean didn't show it, the guy was going through some things.

"Yeah I'm sure he'll be fine."

Looking back, Liz watched as the door shut behind Dean.

* * *

Swishing and tumbling from the washers and dryers filled the Laundromat. The three sat waiting for the sheets to finish. It was dark outside already. About half a dozen people were there with them. Liz was mostly quiet while Sam and Rue talked. Sam couldn't get enough. He was tactful but wouldn't stop asking Aidan questions. Light-hearted things, or funny things—like he'd talk about Dean, and their hunts together, or Aidan's own hunts. Liz didn't know how to join the conversation so she just sat in one of the waiting chairs, flipping through a magazine. She wondered if they were into each other or just friendly. She couldn't tell. Sam was leaning against a washer and Rue sat on one across from him. Both were smiling.

"Yeah, so I almost finished Stanford, had a couple credits left. Maybe one day I'll finish. I don't know… But this point, it's hard to get out, you know," he said. He meant out of hunting. "It was fun," he added. "School. Well-" Laughing slightly, Sam scratched the back of his head. "I think school's fun. Dean wouldn't think so."

"I think I could have liked it given the chance," Aidan replied with a small shrug. "But to be honest I never really did." It wasn't that she hadn't liked school. It was that she hadn't wanted to be there when she was younger.

Seeing Liz sitting there with her magazine, she frowned. "Is there anything you want to make sure we get at the store?"

Just cigarettes. But Liz decided not to mention it. "I'm good."

"What do you like to eat? Is there anything specific you'd want?" Sam asked her. But Liz shook her head.

"I eat everything."

"Okay. Well... Maybe we can have a barbeque tomorrow?" Sam said as he looked at rue. "Do you have a grill?"

"I know there used to be one," Aidan replied, a look of burgeoning excitement in her face. It was something so normal! "We could pick up some burgers or brats or something."

"Yeah!" Sam said. "Dean will be down. I don't remember the last time we barbecued."

Aidan grinned just as the buzzer for the dyer went off. "I think we're the same in that."

By the time they got back to the house, darkness had completely consumed them. Every light in the house seemed to be on, making the windows glow. With their arms full of grocery bags, for the laundry would have to wait for the next trip, the three started towards the front door. It was as they got close that they heard it:

"Lonely is the night, when you find yourself alone..." The lyrics were heard clearly even through the closed door and windows.

"Dean?" Aidan asked, looking back at Sam and Liz.

"Dude, you better not be watching Skinamax on TV!" Sam called out as they walked into the house. "You got the generator?"

"What?" Dean yelled over the music blasting. The man sat at the coffee table and couch with all sorts of weaponry in various stages of undress. Two beer bottles sat among them as well, one already empty, the other with only a couple swallows left.

Aidan's eyes were wide. "Guess you found the stereo!" he called out to him, but he clearly didn't hear.

"You want a beer?" he asked as though that was what she asked.

"Turn it down," Sam said. But with Dean not hearing him, Sam shook his head and went himself and turned down the dial of the stereo, which was located in the large cabinet.

"We bought stuff for a barbeque tomorrow," he said once they could hear each other. "You down for it?"

"Barbeque? Hell yeah, I'm down for a barbeque! Better not let Sammy near the grill though or everything will turn into charcoal." Dean smirked and put the polishing rag he'd been holding back down on the table.

Because Aidan had her arms full, she smiled and headed into the kitchen, not really noticing what Dean was doing. "Liz, want to give me a hand? We'll put this stuff away and then bang out the beds. At least we'll sleep we'll tonight."

Liz nodded and started to help, carrying bags after her.

"I bought a thirty rack of Coors," Sam called to his brother as he too went into the kitchen. The covered the table in the groceries. "But don't drink it all tonight."

He went to the beer, opened the side of the box and took out a can for some himself, then offered to Aidan and Liz.

"Yes, and you can't be fast enough," Aidan replied with a grin as she accepted the beer. The pop topped with a satisfying fizz, which she quickly leaned forward and caught in time before it fell to the floor. "Thank you."

"I'm good. Thank you," Liz said as she loaded groceries into the fridge.

Dean leaned back over the couch to look into the kitchen and saw the three of them, sighing. Sam came out of the kitchen to join him, taking a drink of his beer.

"So you discover anything cool in the house?" he asked.

"Actually," Dean began as he looked back at the coffee table before him. "Did you know all these were out there, Rue?" he asked, gesturing to the array of weaponry before him. There were rifles, shot guns, handguns, knives... It was impressive.

Aidan left the kitchen to see what he was referring to. "What things?" When she saw the array, her mouth dropped open. "Yes... I did know those were out there."

A confused look crossed his face. "Why leave them there? I'd have killed for some of this stuff."

"Oh, wow," Sam said. "So your parents were big hunters then?"

Liz came out to see what they were talking about. The arrangement was impressive if not a bit imposing. She'd never seen so many weapons in her life.

"Yeah, they were," Aidan said, not taking her eyes off of the table. "I just haven't seen them out in so long." It brought back memories. Memories, she didn't necessarily want to revisit. "You know what goes awesome with a cold beer though?"

"Pizza?" Dean offered.

"No."

"A wild night?"

"No." Aidan's eyes widened. "A hot tub. Anyone up for a dip? There's one on the deck out back."

"You have one?" Sam said. While he didn't light up with the same thoughts his brother probably did, the idea sounded great.

"Mmhmm. It's on the back deck. How about you guys go check it out? Make sure it's still running. I'll be out in a second. Just want to put away a couple things."

"Sure!" Sam stood up with Dean. His brother led the way because he knew where the back door was, and Sam hadn't had a chance to look around the house.

Liz followed Aidan back to the kitchen. When both the girls were out of earshot, Dean smirked and smacked his brother in the stomach. "Dude... cabin, beer, hot tub... life CANNOT get better!"

Sam followed him into the sunroom where there was a door to the back. "Yeah, but don't get any bright ideas," he warned.

The back deck hadn't been used in a while, so there were leaves and some dirt scattered on the wood, but there near the covered grill was a covered round tub, ready to be used again. The stars were seen up above, and so was the forested wilderness beyond the deck below.

"Can't stop a bright idea, Sammy. They're like runaway trains." Dean looked at the hot tub and eyed it with speculation. "Don't these things get chemicals and stuff? And how old would the water be anyway?"

"I don't know… Let's see."

With Dean's help, they got the cover off, folded it back. The water was still and appeared clear. It was chilly but…then Sam found the little door at the base and opened it. The tub rumbled with life, lit up—enough room for four people.

"Looks okay to me," Sam said. He closed the cover back. "Let's let it warm up. Hopefully it won't be as cold anymore."

Aidan had grabbed a stack of folded sheets and started heading into the upstairs rooms. "Everything okay, Liz? You've been pretty quiet lately."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Liz said, and left it at that, whether or not it was convincing. She was just adjusting to normal life. Helping Aidan, she followed her. Sam peered out of the sunroom and called to them.

"Hey, the tub's working! It's warming up pretty fast!"

Though she'd barely heard them, Aidan managed to catch something of it and stepped back out of one of the bedrooms. "Okay, we're going to get changed. Be down in a minute!"

The woman looked back at her dark haired friend and grinned. "Do you have a suit?"

When the girl shook her head, Aidan took her down to the room at the far end of the hallway and went to a white dresser. There was nothing unusual about the room whatsoever. A desk, a bed with a light purple bedspread, lamp, some pictures on the wall. A few school memorabilia's were there, but not much.

"One piece or two? Ah whatever, just look through that drawer and pick whatever you like. My bag's downstairs, which is where my suit is, so I'll be right back."

"Okay."

Liz watched her go, and then looked at the drawer. She picked up a two-piece but decided against it. A dark red one piece caught her attention and she settled with it. Looking around Aidan's room—it comforted her. Even though she was a hunter, a girl who was far more courageous than she, and could kick a grown man's ass, Liz thought, Aidan was normal. For once, Liz had a normal friend. Although they still didn't know each other well, Aidan's kindness warmed Liz. She was so happy it wasn't just her and the Winchesters, and Aidan had ended up joining them.

Seeing the bathroom connected to the bedroom, Liz went to there to change.

Meanwhile, Sam and Dean were bickering about something downstairs. When Sam stepped out of the bathroom, Dean burst out laughing. Sam's trunks were Hawaiian print.

"Dude, shut up. You're a dick for taking my trunks."

"Hey, I didn't take shit. If anything, I'm a hero for rescuing the poor neglected swim trucks that didn't seem to measure up to your standards," Dean replied. He glanced down at his own black and blue swim trunks. They were calm on the eyes and normal looking, unlike his brother's newly acquired flamboyant ones.

"Right," Sam snapped. "You better wash them when you're done."

They both heard creaking down the stairs—it was Aidan.

The woman wore a black halter-top two-piece with a stripped red, orange, and pink beach towel wrapped low around her hips. When she spotted Sam's shorts, her eyes widened.

"Uh..." she started, before biting back her smile. "You guys ready?"

Dean stepped forward and offered her an elbow. "Hell yeah we are. After you?"

With a single laugh, she stepped passed him and headed to the sunroom to walk out back.

Sam rolled his eyes and they went after her. When they got to the tub, he opened up the cover of the tub and felt the bubbling water.

"It feels warm enough. I think it'll heat up more while we're in. What do you think, Aide?" he asked.

The woman put her hand in and nodded. "Yeah, soon enough it'll be up there."

"Hurry up, Liz!" Dean called back inside. He went out with a towel full of beers. Aidan climbed onto the tub and set her feet in the water, while sitting on the edge. Though it was warm, she didn't want to get in quite yet.

Sam reached for a beer from his brother, and seeing his suppressed expression of laughter, Sam gave him a pointed look. Smirking, Dean popped his can and took a sip.

"You want one?" Sam held out a beer for Aidan too.

She accepted the can and stood up quickly to prevent water from splashing all over her as Dean climbed into the tub as well. It was then she realized her towel was in dangerous territory and quickly removed it to drape it over the railing of the deck behind her.

She re-situated herself on the edge. "So you guys think this place will work for a couple of days?"

"I could get used to this," Dean replied as he took a long drink.

"Yeah it's great. Oh, Dean, Aidan was telling me that the whole place is surrounded by an iron perimeter. How far out there does it go again?" Sam asked, looking out into the forest. It stood peacefully, a barrier of protection almost. Although it could've looked scary, there wasn't a safer place.

Dean was shocked. "Seriously?" He'd never heard of a house having an iron perimeter, except for perhaps Bobby's place, but even then he wasn't sure. "The whole property?"

"Not the entire property," Aidan corrected before taking a sip of her beer. "The entire property is about 5 acres, I think it covers about 2 of it." She turned around to face the back yard. "If you head back there, you'll be able to spot it. It's kind of egg shaped. A lot of it is buried, but not too deep so that my family could make sure every once in a while that there was no break."

"It's great that you guys had a home base. Wish we had one. We were on the road all the time when we were kids," Sam said. Dean cleared his throat.

Just then, Liz finally appeared. She had a towel wrapped around her up to her arm pits.

"Is it warm?" she asked shyly.

"And toasty," Dean replied, giving her a smile. "Come on in. We've got a beer for you too." He moved further away from the steps leading in so that she'd have an easier time getting in.

"No one has the stellar upbringing they hoped for when they're raised, hunters, do they?" Aidan continued.

Inwardly, Dean groaned. "So what do you guys do around here for fun?" he asked, trying to change the subject. "Do any skiing? Love to see me some snow bunnies."

Though Dean moved, Liz hesitated. She went to get a beer first and then placed it on the edge of the tub, adding her cigarettes too. Then she took off her towel. The red bathing suit made her paleness stand out, and she saw the difference between her and Aidan—Aidan had muscles.

"Maybe we can ski in a few months," Sam said, though looked at Aidan for approval.

"If we're here I don't see why not," Aidan replied. However, she knew the likelihood of it was small. Hunters rarely stayed in one place for long.

Dean opened his mouth to say something, but he was suddenly interrupted by a lead guitar rift. His cell phone.

"Dammit! Every time." Quickly, he stood up and climbed past Liz to climb out of the hot tub to jog over to where his stuff was and fish out his phone.

"It's like 10:30 at night," Aidan told Sam with a raised brow.

"Who is it?" Sam asked.

But Dean ignored him. "Whoa whoa, Leon, hold on." His back had gone rigid, all traces of the humor and lightheartedness he'd demonstrated before gone. "What do you mean? How many of them?"

Now Aidan straightened. There was no mistaking the tone in Dean's voice.

"Okay, hold tight. Ju-just-I know. Yes, of course, I know. You just sit there. Yeah, we're coming. Call you when we're close." Dean snapped the phone shut and looked over towards his brother. "Parties over. We gotta go."


End file.
